Parliament turns 60: From 'temple of democracy' to 'house of disorder'

 New Delhi: When it opened six decades ago, it was a highly revered institution, packed with stalwarts who won freedom for India and where debates were of high quality.

As Indian Parliament celebrates its 60th anniversary on Sunday, analysts admit that disorder has become the order of the day in both the Houses.
 Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President of India and the two Houses, Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States or House of Elders). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

Parliament has witnessed a lot of other sweeping changes too. In 1952, most MPs in the first House were lawyers by training. Now, most are linked to agriculture. There is a noticeable shift in the age profile too.
  In 1952, only 20 per cent of MPs were 56 years or older. In 2009, when the last Lok Sabha elections were held, this zoomed to 43 per cent, according to Devika Malik of PRS Legislative Research, a think tank.
 The members of the first Lok Sabha included, in the treasury and opposition benches, besides Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vallabhai Patel, B.R. Ambedkar, Abul Kalam Azad, A.K. Gopalan, Sucheta Kriplani, Jagjivan Ram, Sardar Hukam Singh, Asoka Mehta and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai.
 Speeches, debates and interventions in the house were of a very high order. Even when they differed with their opponents, everyone maintained decorum.

More disorder also means less work in Parliament. According to PRS legislative Research, the first Lok Sabha passed an average of 72 bills every year. This has decreased to 40 in the 15th Lok Sabha.

Both the government and Opposition use disruptions to either score brownie points or sidestep issues. They do it regardless of which party is in power and who is the Opposition. Both employ hundreds – if not more – of staff at various levels for running offices, maintaining facilities for members of Parliament and looking after the upkeep of Parliament House Complex, besides fulfilling obligations for being one of the ‘estates’ of Indian democracy. In the recent past, several crores of rupees have gone down the drain due to disruptions.
The Parliament is composed of 790 MPs, who serve the largest democratic electorate in the world. The Parliament house originally known as 'Council House', was planned at the introductory stage to be a part of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. But in 1919, according to the Montague-Chelmsford reforms, it was announced to be designed as the Indian parliament. Various designs of the building were planned from a triangular to a Roman colosseum like structure and which paved way for its present circular designed colonnaded verandah, with 144 pillars and 560 feet diameter. The foundation stone of the council House was laid on February 12, 1921, by the Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, third son of Queen Victoria. The building in pale and red Dholpur sandstone, used the same theme as neighbouring Secretariat Building. The building spread over nearly six acres was inaugurated on January 18, 1927, by then Governor-General of India, Lord Irwin. It is now commonly known as Sansad Bhavan.

Lok Sabha:

The Lok Sabha is also known as the House of the People or the Lower House. All of its members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of Universal Adult Suffrage, except two who are appointed by the President of India. Every citizen of India, who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion or race, who is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for the election of Member of Lok Sabha.

The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of the House be 552 members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and should not be criminally convicted. At present, the strength of the House is 544 members.

Rajya Sabha:

The Rajya Sabha is also known as the Council of States or the Upper House. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. However, one third of the members retire every second year, and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of six years.[14] Its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the states.

The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members in all. Elections to it are scheduled and the chamber cannot be dissolved. Each member has a term of 6 years and elections are held for one-third of the seats after every 2 years. 238 members are to be elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are to be nominated by President of India and shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely literature, science, art and social service.

Representatives of States are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the state in accordance with system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
Representatives of Union Territories are indirectly elected by members of an electoral college for that territory in accordance with system of proportional representation. The Council of States is designed to maintain the federal character of the country. The number of members from a state depends on the population of the state, that is. 31 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Nagaland.

The minimum age for a person to become a member of the Rajya Sabha is 30 years.
In 60 years, Parliament has seen it all

The most shamful incident in Indian democracy: The cash-for-vote controversy that stunned the nation dates back to 2008 when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government moved a trust vote in the Parliament after the Left parties withdrew support to it over the civilian nuclear deal with the US. Allegations of horse-trading were made at the time. CPI leader AB Bardan went to the extent of publicly claiming that the going rate of an MP was 25 crore.

On the day of the trust vote, three BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Mahavir Bhagora and Faggan Singh Kulaste -stormed the well of the House waving thick wads of currency notes, alleging then SP leader Amar Singh had bribed them to abstain from voting. The bribing was also captured on camera through a sting operation by the CNN-IBN news channel.

A parliamentary probe headed by Congress leader KC Deo concluded in 2009 that there was no evidence of bribery.

The three-year-old scandal was revived after the Supreme Court last week censured the Delhi Police for lack of progress in the case and asked it to complete investigations within two weeks.

The police have since arrested political operatives Sanjeev Saxena and Suhail Hindustani and secured permission to question former SP leader Amar Singh and sitting MPs Ashok Argal and Reoti Raman Singh.

The Delhi Police had told a court that no Congress or Samajwadi Party leader had contacted the accused to strike a deal for MPs. The prosecution refuted Hindustani's allegation that former SP leader Amar Singh and some Congress leaders had contacted him to negotiate with certain BJP MPs for their vote in favour of the trust motion for Manmohan Singh government in 2008.

Parliament attack: On December 13, 2001, five gunmen infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels. While both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha had been adjourned 40 minutes prior to the incident, many MPs and government officials such as then Home Minister LK Advani and then Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak were believed to have still been in the building at the time of the attack. Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi had already left. The gunmen drove their vehicle into the car of then Vice-President Krishan Kant (who was in the building at the time), got out, and began firing their weapons.
The Vice-President's guards and security personnel shot back at the terrorists and then started closing the gates of the compound. The lady constable Kamlesh Kumari was first to spot the terrorist squad. One gunman, wearing a suicide vest, was shot dead; the vest exploded. The other four gunmen were also killed. Five policemen, a Parliament security guard, and a gardener were killed, and 18 others were injured. No Minister or any MP was hurt.

Special sittings to mark 60 years of Indian Parliament

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, holding special sittings on Sunday, will focus on the 'sixty years journey of Indian Parliament' as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of its first session.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will initiate the debate in the Rajya Sabha, while Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will do it in the Lok Sabha. Singh and Mukherjee are the Leaders of the two Houses.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who is the moving spirit behind the idea, would make the opening remarks from the Chair to mark the special day of the largest parliamentary democracy in the world.

Besides prominent members from all sides, independents are also being accommodated in the over five-hour discussion.

A few living members of the first Lok Sabha, including Reishang Keishing and Resham Lal Jangde, will be honoured on the occasion. Ninety one-year-old Reishang Keishing, now a member of the Rajya Sabha, was a member of the first and third Lok Sabhas. Mr Jangde was member of first, second and ninth Lok Sabhas.

Both the Houses of Parliament will meet at 11.00 am and will conclude the discussions at 4.30pm.

In the evening, President Pratibha Patil will address a joint sitting of both Houses in the Central Hall. The Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, the Prime Minister and Kumar will also address the joint sitting.

President Pratibha Patil will release coins of Rs 5 and Rs 10 denomination to mark the occasion along with a special stamp.

The President will also release three books - 'Members' Introduction: First Lok Sabha', Speakers of Lok Sabha' and '60 years of the Lok Sabha: An Analysis' on the occasion. The books are published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Patil will also release five other books 'Selected Speeches of Women Members of the Constituent Assembly', 'Welcome Respected Chairman', '60 years of the Rajya Sabha', 'Computerisation of the Rajya Sabha: An Overview' and 'Nominated Members of the Rajya Sabha'.

A cultural programme featuring Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Sitarist Debu Chaudhuri, Carnatic vocalist Maharajapuram Ramachandran, versatile singer Shubha Mudgal and Iqbal Khan will light up the evening.

Courtesy : http://daily.bhaskar.com (With PTI inputs)