New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS): Reflecting on the frequent disruptions in Parliament, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday warned of public agitations that would be a threat to democracy if the House remains non-functional and gradually gets into irrelevance.
Launching a book 'Parliament: Powers, Functions & Privileges; a Comparative Constitutional Perspective' authored by Dr. K.S. Chauhan, VP Dhankhar warned of mass protests in case the Parliament continues to suffer from disruptions.
“People will take to agitations. People will find a way out and therefore if Parliament is non-functional, it will gradually get into irrelevance, and that will be a threat to democracy,” he said.
That nation’s aspirational urge must be satisfied by the parliamentarians engaging in overdrive by evolution of policies and that can emanate only when the Parliament functions, said the Vice President.
He said the primary function of Parliament is that it must be optimally functional. “It must have dialogue and debate. It must hold the government accountable,” he said.
He said the executive is held accountable only through parliamentary mechanism. “It requires that the Parliament functions through dialogue, debate, discussion and deliberation. But if Parliament is dysfunctional, Parliament is ravaged by disruptions and accountability does not take place,” he said.
Hinting at the negative implications of a non-functional House, VP Dhankhar said, “We are the fifth-largest global economy, we will soon be the third-largest. But the challenge is there. Eight-fold increase in per capita income has to be achieved for a developed nation status. And that can happen only when Parliament, its committees perform and outperform themselves.”
He also stressed on maintaining ethical standards in Parliament. “Just imagine my pain. Only a month back or so, we found on a particular seat in Rajya Sabha, a wad of notes, Rs 500 in denomination. What has really pained me is that no one has come to claim it. That's a very serious issue. You can carry notes, maybe out of necessity but then no one has claimed, that's a collective challenge to our ethical standards,” he said.
The Vice President said that the Parliament will fructify only if parliamentarians have their free say on issues.
“I envy their enormous talent, their capacity, their contribution. They are very learned people and, therefore, I am sure this book will be an eye opener to those who urge to take this nation forward,” he said.