Hailing the people as the supreme masters in a parliamentary democracy, President Pranab Mukherjee, who had played a considerably long innings within the precincts of Parliament, said that every one among the public representatives must remember that they are so because of the people who give them their endorsement through suffrage. He said this while addressing the packed special session of Uttarakhand Assembly on Monday.
“legislative Assembly is the centre of governance in a State and conceives of it as the primary instrument of good governance and socio-economic transformation. The job of a legislator is a 24x7 responsibility. legislators must at all times be committed to addressing the problems of the people. They must give voice to the grievances of the public by raising them on the floor of the legislature and act as the link between people and the Government. The people will demand an account of how they have performed at the end of five years,” the President said.
Dwelling on the cardinal principle of effective functioning of the Parliamentary system, Mukherjee said that the majority will rule with the minority opposing, exposing and if possible, deposing. “However, the minority must accept the decisions of the majority while the majority must respect the views of the minority,” he affirmed.
lending his full weight to discipline and decorum in the Parliamentary and Assembly proceedings, he said rules, conventions and etiquette must be strictly observed. “Parliamentary practices, procedures and conventions are meant to provide for orderly and expeditious transaction of business of the House. Dissent should be expressed with decency and within the contours and parameters of Parliamentary devices. Democracy should comprise of the three ‘D’s - Debate, Dissent and Decision, not the fourth ‘D’ for ‘Disruption”, the President reminded the legislators of the state.
Appearing to be dismayed over time being given by the legislators towards legislation declining across the country, he said the Houses must sit for a minimum of 100 days every year. “With the heightened complexity of administration, legislation must be preceded by adequate discussion and scrutiny. If not, it will fail to deliver the desired results or meet its objectives. In particular, there is need for utmost caution in matters of legislation, money and finance. It must be kept in mind that no expenditure can be incurred by the Executive, no tax levied and no money withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of the State without the approval of the legislature,” Mukherjee said.
Heaping appreciation on the 16th lok Sabha, President said that till now, the incumbent lok Sabha has sat for 90 days. As many as 55 Government bills have been passed so far. Twenty four bills have been passed in the just- concluded fourth session. “The House sat for 55.19 hours to transact government business and 7.04 hours lost due to interruptions and forced adjournments,” he said.
Sounding happy over the new horns leaving marks on the Parliamentary proceedings, he said that there are 318 first timers in the present lok Sabha. “The time spent on quality debate and discussion has gone up considerably,” he said.
Stressing the importance of consensus across the political spectrum over crucial matters bearing on India’s international standing, the President cited the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill relating to land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh. The passage has brightened the standing of India in the international realm aside from lending further warmth to the bilateral relation of India with her neighbour Bangladesh. It vindicates that India stands as a rock in matters of monumental national importance, he commented.
He urged the Uttarakhand Assembly as well as other Assemblies to consider increasing the number of sittings. This would go a long way in thoroughly discussing and debating things that relate to the States’ welfare. To endear the common people to the legislatures, the President he suggested museums be set up in the Assembly premises to enable them have a grasp of legislative practices. This aside, the students should be invited to witness sessions. Capacity building programmes can be organised too for the members of local bodies such as Gram Sabhas and Panchayats.
Stressing on the maxim of development first with no place for parochial politics to scupper things, he said policies of respective parties might be important for the individual legislators from political standpoints. However, when it comes to development public welfare must transcend hide-bound boundaries of politics, he opined.
Averring that the oversight function of the legislature is important and dynamic in parliamentary system, he said the legislators’ involvement in committees such as Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee and the Departmental Standing Committees can help them develop expertise in the complex working of government departments.
“The Question Hour provides a good opportunity to ask searching questions and to hold the Executive accountable for its actions or inaction and to obtain assurances from the ministries concerned. This is one of the important privileges of legislators and they must ensure that the Question Hour is fully utilised,” Mukherjee said.
Citing the instance of S Satyamurti, a lawyer and outstanding orator, the President said he had entered Madras legislative Council in 1923. Since the time he stepped into the portals of that Assembly, he carved a niche for himself in the annals of Parliamentary politics. This was thanks to his uncanny ability to use the Question Hour up to the hilt in the interests of the common people. Things went to such an extent that he was deemed as the ‘terror of the question hour’. His brilliant and effective speeches earned him the name ‘Trumpet Voice’. He was brilliance incarnate. “His success as a member of the Central legislative Assembly from 1935 to 1939 led Gandhiji to remark that if there had been ten Satyamurtis in our legislatures, the British would have quit long ago,” Pranab Mukherjee said.