How to make our elected representatives in Parliament i.e. the MP’s more responsibleIJ The debate has been doing rounds for a long time and we all want that they should deliver more for sure. But then what is the problemIJ In an age of super transparency when we can get most of the required information by simply filing an RTI application, why can’t we hold them accountable for everything they do inside the ParliamentIJ After conducting a careful scrutiny of the existing rules of procedure in Parliament, it is found that a voice vote is the only requirement to decide on every bill and any other voting motion.
In case of the bills demanding constitutional amendment like the one on the Goods and Services Tax Bill that passed recently in both the houses, only have a recorded votes of the MP’s which is called ‘division’. These bills need to have the votes of the MP’s recorded as they require the support of the majority of the members of the house and two thirds majority of those present and voting.
Unfortunately, as the MP’s votes are not generally recorded except in case of serious constitution amendment bills, the electorate is always on the dark about the opinion of their representatives. In the absence of such records, people cannot ask or demand from their representatives the way they vote on any issue. As it is observed that the existing Anti-Defection law bounds all the MPs of a particular political party to vote as per the instructions of the party whip. Therefore, the vote of the MPs on crucial matters are a foregone conclusion.
So this law urgently needs amendment. Today on one hand the Anti-Defection law and on the other the lack of voting records of our MPs literally make the existing model of representative democracy almost redundant in this regard. This must come to an end. The Parliament is geared up to have super infrastructure system and one MP can just vote by pressing buttons in his/her table. So all their votes should be recorded to make them more accountable. An immediate call for ending the helplessness of the citizens should be raised across the country within no time.