The Decline of Deliberative Democracy: Analyzing the Dysfunction of India's Legislatures
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Parliament and State Legislatures - their functioning, sessions, devices of accountability like Question Hour, Parliamentary Committees, Constitutional posts like Speaker & Deputy Speaker).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these; Separation of powers; Important aspects of governance.
Key Highlights from the News
The article argues that legislatures, including the Parliament and state assemblies in India, are not functioning effectively due to frequent disruptions, which prevent meaningful discussions.
In a recent session, the Lok Sabha functioned for only 29% of its scheduled time, and the Rajya Sabha for 34%. This is the lowest functioning time for the 18th Lok Sabha.
Important parliamentary procedures like the Question Hour, which ensures accountability in government functioning, are becoming ineffective.
The average number of sitting days for state assemblies has decreased from 28 in 2017 to just 20 days in 2024.
The author states that the root cause of this problem is the concentration of power in the executive (Prime Minister and Chief Ministers).
Institutional failures, such as the absence of a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha since 2019, also contribute to this decline.
A solution proposed is for the government to be willing to cooperate with the opposition. Electing someone from the opposition as Deputy Speaker would be a good start.
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