Parliament needs to innovate and drastically change the format of debate from the repetitive rambling speeches to better articulate the aspirations of the people and seek redressal to their problems, a new book on Parliament has said.The book also makes a strong pitch for sittings of Parliament for at least 100 days in a year and introduction of Prime Minister’s Question Hour to hold the executive to account.
“The introduction of PM’s Question Hour would really be a break from the colonial past, and it would inaugurate a new era in the Indian Parliamentary annals,” the book ‘The Indian Parliament: Samvidhan Sadan to Sansad Bhawan’ authored by Devender Singh, a former additional secretary in the Lok Sabha Secretariat, said.
It said the introduction of PM’s Question Hour once a week will act as a safety valve, allow members to raise issues of urgent concern and allow the prime minister to explain government policies and counter criticism.
“The introduction of the PMQ and its effective use can go a long way to take the wind out of the sail of the Opposition, to soothe the ruffled feathers and pacify the irate tempers and preempt the tendency to frequently disrupt or rock proceedings,” the book said.
On the public perception of Parliament, the book contended that public cynicism and distrust about Parliament proceedings was a result of unwarranted grandstanding, persistent obstructions and unethical conduct of some members.