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Adjournments caused by disruptions and pandemonium, holding ofdharnas by members rushing to the well of the House and anunwillingness to participate in discussions were some of theconcerns expressed by members of Parliament cutting across partylines, as both the Houses celebrated the 60th anniversary of thefirst sitting of Parliament by holding a special sitting on Sunday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh initiated the debate in the RajyaSabha and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha intheir capacity as the Leader of the respective House. As thesittings extended till the evening, Dr. Singh spoke in the LokSabha too, winding up the debate. Both the Houses also passed aresolution to uphold the dignity and supremacy of Parliament. Dr. Singh said routine disruptions had led to questions about thefunctioning of Parliament. He called for a "substantive andsincere" introspection. Public disenchantment was bound torise if the parties failed to collectively resolve to restore theprestige of the institution. "The daily routine of disruptions, adjournments and shoutingin the House is leading many outside to question the efficacy ofthe institution and faith in public affairs." The manner inwhich the MPs had conducted themselves, especially over the lastcouple of years, had led to a sense of "frustration anddisillusionment" among the people. "If we have toresolve, if we have to restore the prestige of the institution,then each one of us needs to lead by example," he told themembers. Shock absorber Mr. Mukherjee regretted that a handful of MPs throttled the"silent majority" and called for a mechanism that wouldeliminate disruptions. "On many occasions, this House hasbeen tumultuous, tempers ran high, but disruption is the least thisHouse has adopted." Parliament had acted as a "shockabsorber" on several occasions and whenever there weredisputes or dissensions Lok Sabha had played a role in defusing it. There had been confrontation in the federal structure betweenvarious organs of the government and the judiciary, the executiveand the legislature. "But over the years, we have evolved asystem and are able to find an amicable solution," Mr.Mukherjee said. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said it was an occasion for themembers to introspect and think about the future. People deservedthe real credit for the success of democracy, as it was theirenthusiastic participation in elections that had kept theinstitution of Parliament alive. Tolerance Senior BJP member L.K. Advani called for tolerating dissent which,he said, was the hallmark of the country's cultural ethos and ofany democratic society. There should not only be tolerance, butrespect as well for dissenting ideology. When India adopted theparliamentary system, people were sceptical about its success. Butthe ordinary people of this country proved them wrong. Speaking in the Lok Sabha after a long gap, senior Congress memberSonia Gandhi said while Parliament's integrity and independencemust be preserved at all cost, it must not only be a source of lawand power but also of justice and compassion. The MPs' conduct mustrise to the highest ethical standards. The greatest triumph of thecountry now was that the "aam aadmi" (common man) hadbecome the heart and soul of Indian democracy. Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj sought greaterrepresentation for women in Parliament, up from the present eleven.She also expressed her displeasure at the frequent adjournments dueto disruptions and disagreements between both sides of thepolitical divide, as also to the adjustments of coalition politicsof the last 18 years. Terrorism, insurgency In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley saidthere were so many countries which became independent with Indiaand adopted democracy, but then fell to dictatorship. India,because of some intrinsic culture of accommodation and tolerance,survived as a democratic society. "We still continue to facethe curse of terrorism and insurgency. Let us resolve that thereshould be no politics on these issues," he said. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) pointed out that the efficiency of IndianParliament depended to a large extent on the duration and properconduct of the parliamentary proceedings. During the last twodecades, Indian Parliament never sat for more than 100 days in ayear while the British Parliament sat for at least 160 days."We must seriously consider, through a ConstitutionalAmendment if necessary, making 100 sittings in a year mandatory. Ithink that is necessary as a corrective step for the future.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Rotary Die-Cutting Machine , China Carton Stapler for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Carton Machinery.
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