IANS
New Delhi, Aug 7: First-time MPs and young parliamentarians, elected to the 15th Lok Sabha amid focus on youth, will have to do more to live up to expectations as their performance during the budget session has been below average, according to a study.
The study by PRS Legislative Research of the proceedings of the house in its first month-long budget session that concluded Friday says the participation of the first-timers and the young MPs was below average and worse than their elders.
It says 27 percent of the first-timers did not speak even once, while some 38 percent of young MPs remained quiet. The figure for women MPs not speaking at all was 33 percent.
The PRS Legislative Research is an independent organisation studying parliamentary trends. It points out that first-term MPs form a significant section of each party (59 percent on an average). At 81 percent, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has the highest proportion of such MPs.
Here are the findings of the study:
* Each first-term MP participated in about 2.0 debates as compared to 2.5 for an average MP.
* For most parties, participation of such MPs was less than that of their more experienced colleagues. Though they form 59 percent of the strength of the Lok Sabha, their participation in debates was 49 percent.
* Young MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were more active than their older colleagues.
* Young MPs in the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP participated in debates less than their party averages.
* While women MPs constitute 11 percent of Lok Sabha, they recorded a participation of eight percent.
* Across most parties, participation by women MPs was slightly lower than party average.
* Women MPs of BJP matched their male counterparts.