Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday that the disruption in legislatures is cancerous not only for legislatures but also for democracy and society.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 84th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Mumbai, the VP said curbing it is not optional but an absolute necessity to save the sanctity of the legislature.
He expressed deep concern over lack of discipline and decorum in legislatures warning that “the enormity of this decline is rendering legislatures irrelevant.”
Noting that the debates have been reduced to quarrels, Dhankhar described this as an extremely disturbing situation that calls for greater introspection among all stakeholders.
Observing that emergence of this ecosystem is debilitating our parliamentary democracy, the VP cautioned that the erosion of public trust in their representative bodies is the most worrisome thing which should “engage the utmost attention of the political class of the country.”
He also said it is high time presiding officers invoked their authority to enforce discipline and decorum as lack of these is virtually shaking the very foundations of legislatures.
The VP further stated that a strong democracy thrives not just on sound principles but on leaders committed to upholding them.
“We bear the responsibility to be guardians of the democratic pillars. Our duty is to ensure the legislative process is meaningful, accountable, effective and transparent, giving voice to the people,” he said.
To ensure blossoming and flowering of democracy, Dhankhar called upon the legislators to believe in “4 Ds’’ – dialogue, debate, decorum and deliberations, and keep away from 2 Ds of disturbance and disruption.
On the occasion, the VP congratulated all participants for having adopted five resolutions that will lay the firm foundation of Bharat@2047. “These resolutions relate to effective functioning of Legislative bodies, capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institution, adoption and promotion of emerging technologies, enforcing accountability of the executive and the resolution to create One Nation One Legislative Platform,” he said.
Mentioning that disruptive technology like artificial intelligence, machine learning have entered our lives, the VP called upon legislators to provide a mechanism for regulating them.