It is true that the fabric of democracy should not be stretched too much, lest it should tear. The sanctity of the legislative process should not be compromised. However, the debate on legislative propriety missed an opportunity to critically examine if the democracy and its instruments, especially the Parliamentary system that we so zealously want to protect, is functioning properly or not. There is merit in insulating the Parliamentary process from the direct pressure of the unelected, just as there is merit in guarding the independence of the judiciary and the executive. But the fact is that the legislative process has always been influenced by special interest groups. While stories of prominent business houses having governments of the day ‘in their pockets’ are possibly exaggerated, there is no denying that businesses do influence policies through active lobbying, either on their own or through business associations.

Not just legislative independence, but also legislative efficiency, productivity, and performance should be monitored and examined. India has a very poor record on all these parameters

Further, not just legislative independence, but also legislative efficiency, productivity, and performance should be monitored and examined. India has a very poor record on all these parameters. The Indian Parliament meets for roughly 65 days a year, which is not adequate to allow considered debate on various important bills and issues that need to be taken up. With many more political parties today, each with its own point of view, greater time is required to allow multiplicity of views to be heard and incorporated. This is hardly possible with so few days devoted to sessions. In the early days of India’s Parliamentary history, Parliament met for 140 days on average. However, this is not all. Not only is the number of days fewer than needed, the time actually spent on debate is even lesser.

According to data compiled by PRS Legislative Research, over the last couple of years, Parliament has rarely functioned for all the scheduled hours. Typically, the number of hours actually worked is 20 to 100 per cent lower than planned. In the 2010 Winter Session of Parliament, no business could be transacted at all because of disruption of proceedings by opposition parties. The ongoing session of Parliament is going down the same path with the opposition disrupting Parliament on the issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector. As this article is being written, seven straight days’ work has already been lost.

The direct cost to the exchequer of running the Parliament is Rs 25 lakh per hour, or nearly Rs 2 crore a day, according to one estimate. The cost of disruption in the current session itself is Rs 14 crore of tax payers’ money so far. However, this is not even the tip of the iceberg. The real cost to the economy is much higher. Decisions not taken, bills not passed, or passed without adequate and quality debate, inflict far greater damage. In fact, most surveys among professionals and businessmen rate paralysis of government as the number one challenge to the ‘India story’ currently.

Even during the few days that Parliament functions, absenteeism among members is rife. Parliamentary committees that deliberate on important bills record 45-50 per cent attendance on average. During the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha, the Railways Committee, for example, recorded only 14 per cent average attendance.

The state of affairs in state assemblies is even poorer. PRS data shows that the Punjab assembly met for an average of 19 days a year over a 10 year period, ending 2007. The Delhi assembly met for an average of 21 days. Some legislative assemblies are a few years behind in publishing their ‘resume of work’, which is a record of the work done in a session. Clearly, they do not feel they are accountable to anyone. Also, unlike Parliament, state assemblies do not have standing committees to examine and debate bills, and any review of bills happen only on the floor of the house. Most bills are passed without much debate; the average time devoted to a discussion on a bill is just half an hour in the Delhi assembly! Recently, newspapers reported that Members of Parliament (MPs) want red beacons on their cars and want privileges similar to High Court judges. Fair point. We should give our MPs the respect that the office demands. But, at the same time, the citizens have a right to ask for certain minimum standards of conduct from them. In 2004, there were 121 MPs with a criminal record, with as many as 300 cases against them collectively. What is more, no single party can be blamed for criminalisation of politics. The number of MPs with a criminal background in each party is roughly in proportion to its strength in Parliament. In fact, the ratio of alleged criminals to the total strength of Parliament is higher than the ratio of criminals to the general population! One cannot help but feel uncertain if Indian democracy is safe in such hands.

Some legislative assemblies are a few years behind in publishing their ‘resume of work’, which is a record of the work done in a session. Clearly, they do not feel they are accountable to anyone

Democracy needs to be saved in India and the sanctity of the democratic institutions needs to be protected zealously. However, the agenda for democratic renewal needs to be much wider and deeper. Some Parliamentarians and chief ministers have suggested ‘pay for work’ for elected representatives. However, such cosmetic solutions will not have much impact. Some of the things that can be done are; ridding politics of criminalisation by raising the eligibility bar; making participation in legislative work mandatory and the failure to do so being made a ground for disqualification in future elections; and making the duration of Parliamentary sessions flexible so that certain minimum legislative work is accomplished. Perhaps Mr Hazare should take these issues up to make an even greater difference to democracy in India?