New Delhi: Scenes like slogan shouting, throwing chairs and mikes and using unwarranted language has become a part of Lok Sabha sessions.
Disruptions and fights in the two houses of the Indian Parliament are better entertainment than most Bollywood films and the 14th Lok Sabha is yet another weary example of the adjournments, screaming MPs and walkouts that the people of the country love to see on television.
But have you ever stopped and wondered that the endless storm over the Volcker Report and the stalemate in the Parliament is coming at a heavy price.
When former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma said that it?s extremely expensive to run the Parliament of India, what he meant was that for every minute wasted in the Parliament session, the taxpayers lose thousands of rupees.
Social Watch India, a non-government organization, prepared a Citizens Report on Governance and Development of 2004. According to the report, every minute in Parliament costs the taxpayer Rs 18,430.
So far, the years 2002 and 2004 have been the worst in terms of actual business conducted in both Houses. In 2002 nearly 104 hours were wasted in the Lok Sabha due to adjournments and disruptions and over Rs 11.5 crore of the taxpayers money went waste.
64 hours were wasted in 2003 and 2004 each and over Rs 14 crores were wasted in MP fights.
This year's budget session was the worst hit in recent times, 37 hours as against 92 working hours were lost. A rough estimate says Rs 4 crore went up in smoke but the MPs continued to receive their daily stipend of Rs 500.
The report also criticizes the conduct of the elected MPs and their failure to perform their duties.
Says P A Sangma, "There are more than 30 bills pending in the Parliament, some of them for over ten years."
The number of sittings is also decreasing and so is the presence of the MP's. In 2004, the average attendance recorded was only 45-50 per cent.
With so many adjournments and so little work, it's no wonder that the Indian taxpayer has so much to complain about.
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