Hodge is right: If Parliament shuts down, they must work longer

“MPs risk accusations of laziness and poor value for money because the number of hours they work in Westminster appear to be shrinking, according to the senior MP responsible for scrutinising public spending.” You agree, and you wonder where this was written. Not in India; this was reported in The Guardian, UK, and referred to their parliament, not to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. [caption id=“attachment_718364” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  What we need is a Margaret Hodge who tells Indian parliamentarians to work longer hours till the scheduled work is completed. AFP[/caption] “Margaret Hodge, who chairs the public accounts committee, said the coalition should lengthen the parliamentary calendar because MPs were spending less time in Westminster scrutinising policy. In an interview with The Guardian, Hodge warned of a growing “democratic vacuum” and said that parliamentary sessions were so short “it feels as if we are hardly working”,” the Guardian report continued. As this is being written, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned, thanks to loud and raucous protests by various opposition parties – a development that is so usual and normal that we would be shocked when either house of parliament conducts business for a full day. “This is a very important part of the session of Parliament. Important financial business is before the House. There are also important Bills like the Food Security Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill, which require to be passed. And it is my sincere wish that the House should be allowed to function. If there are any concerns of the Opposition, we are willing to debate all those issues which worry the Opposition. Therefore my request to all members of the Opposition is to let the Government function. We have been put in this position by the people of India to deliver certain goods, and we hope that everyone would cooperate in that process: that the budget is passed, that essential business contained in other important Bills is also dealt with effectively,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said to media as he entered parliament this morning. Opposition leaders obviously didn’t heed the prime minister’s request, and it’s business as usual, which means that there’s no business in parliament. The time lost is disturbing, to say the least. According to PRS Legislative Research the trend is worrying. Here are details of 2012 in parliament

• In 2012, both Houses were scheduled to meet 74 times with sittings in the Lok Sabha expected to last 6 hours and Rajya Sabha 5 hours. However, only 61 percent of available time was used for parliamentary work in the Lok Sabha and 66 percent in the Rajya Sabha.
• The Monsoon Session was disrupted over the alleged irregularities in the allocation of coal blocks. Around 77 percent of time was disrupted and both Houses only sat for 51 hours (of the allocated 220).
• More than half-way through the 15th Lok Sabha, productive time is at 70 percent, significantly lower than previous Lok Sabhas.

What we need is a Margaret Hodge who tells Indian parliamentarians to work longer hours till the scheduled work is completed. Indian MPs think nothing of disrupting work, even if their actions result in the postponement of vital bills. The House sessions end as scheduled, only to reconvene in a month thereafter, effectively delaying laws. Ms Hodge recognizes that, in England, there is some justification in the delays. “Part of the problem is that the current coalition government appears to be struggling to find legislation to put before the house because they do not agree on many issues. But select committees have work to do but do not have the time to carry it out," she is quoted as saying in the Guardian interview. So it is with India. The Parliamentary sub-committees and the joint parliamentary committees have work to do, more so with a coalition government in power and a hostile opposition. If the current scheduled working days are not enough to complete their work, let them recast the calendar and add as many more hours and days as might be required to avoid postponement and lapsing of laws.