A Democracy on Mute
“Debate is the lifeblood of democracy.” These words by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the All India
Speakers’ Conference (August 2025) ring true at a time when legislatures are fast losing their deliberative character.
The constitutional vision of Parliament and State Assemblies as forums for accountability, scrutiny, and reasoned
dialogue stands weakened. Today’s reality paints a stark picture — shrinking sittings, rushed legislation, and
eroding executive accountability — calling for urgent democratic introspection.
Numbers That Tell the Story
Recent sessions reveal a structural crisis in legislative functioning:
• Vanishing Sittings:
• Latest session: 21 sittings in 32 days, but 15 Bills passed with minimal debate.
• 18th Lok Sabha: Functioned only 29% of scheduled time, Rajya Sabha 34% (PRS Legislative Research).
• Question Hour Collapse:
• Only 8% of starred questions answered orally in Lok Sabha, 5% in Rajya Sabha.
• States in Decline:
• Average 20 sittings in 2024, down from 28 in 2017.
• UP & MP: Barely 16 days; Kerala (38) and Odisha (42) remain exceptions.
• Vacant Deputy Speaker Chairs:
• Lok Sabha without a Deputy Speaker since 2019; eight Assemblies follow suit — violating Article 93 spirit.
• Committee Role Diminished:
• Bills bypassing scrutiny; partisan politics infecting Standing Committees.
Constitutional Compass Lost
• Article 75: Collective responsibility thrives on debate and motions.
• Article 93: Deputy Speaker mandate ignored for years.
• Founders’ Vision: Nehru (1946) – Parliament must be an “arena of reason, not acrimony.”
• Historic Contrast:
• 1950s: Parliament met 120+ days annually.
• Today: Barely 60 days — a stark decline in deliberation.
Why Are We Here?
• Executive Dominance: Rushed Bills, e.g., Farm Laws 2020, bypassing committees.
• Hyper-Partisan Politics: Political theatre > policy discussion.
• Institutional Decay: Weak Business Advisory Committees, no Deputy Speakers.
• Legislative Morality Erosion: Noise over nuance.
The Fallout
• Zero Accountability: Question Hour turned tokenistic.
• Low-Quality Laws: Judicial pushback inevitable.
• Centralization Surge: Ordinance Raj in States.
• People Disillusioned: Legislatures seen as irrelevant to governance.
Learning from the World
• UK: Pre-legislative scrutiny mandatory.
• Australia: Public submissions on major Bills.
• Canada: Independent Budget Office for fiscal transparency.
• Indian Reports:
• NCRWC (2001): Suggested 100 sittings for Parliament, 50 for Assemblies.
• RS Ethics Committee: Penalties for disruptions.
Resetting the System – A Reform Agenda
1. Institutional Anchors
• Enforce Article 93: Time-bound election of Deputy Speakers.
• Fixed Calendar: 100 sittings for Parliament, 50 for Assemblies.
2. Revamp Committees
• Mandatory Scrutiny of all non-Money Bills.
• Live-stream sessions for transparency.
3. Behavioral Detox
• Graded Penalties for Disruptions.
• Consensus-driven Business Committees.
4. Empower Debate
• Legislative Research Units for MPs/MLAs.
• Publish debate participation records.
5. Tech for Democracy
• Digital Public Consultations on major laws.
• AI-based time allocation for balanced debates.
6. Judicial Reinforcement
• SC monitoring for Article 93 compliance.
• Rational limits on parliamentary privilege.
Bringing Back the Soul of Parliament
The numbers don’t lie: India’s legislatures are in a state of democratic deficit. If Granville Austin called the
Constitution “a seamless web of accountability,” its vitality depends on restoring debate as a rational process, not
ritualistic drama. The way forward is a triad of institutional reform, political will, and civic engagement — to
reclaim Parliament and Assemblies as the living forums of reason envisaged by the framers.
