by a Thinker, Sailor, Blogger, Irreverent Guy from Madras

Is Parliament Disruption Justified or not


There is an actual trending hastag on Twitter, no doubt promoted by BJP sock puppet army, #SansadChalneDo.  It means Let the Parliament Function.  What those idiots do not realise, or putting a ‘spin’ as if they do not realise, is that a Parliament or for that matter any State Legislature is ‘not’ an extension of the Executive – that is the Office headed by the Prime Minister (State Chief Minister).

For many sound reasons, which we will explore in another point of time, India’s Founding Fathers decided to blur the lines between the Executive and the Legislature.  Till the time of Pandit Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, the leaders understood that the separation of the Executive and the Legislature, though blurred deliberately, does exist.

After the advent of the regional parties, the first instance of which occurred to our eternal regret in my home state of Tamil Nadu with the namesake Dravidian parties, the blurred line has been rubbed out.  This is the reason why the Members of Parliament and State Legislatures (who are not Ministers, but only elected members) act with such scant disregard for rules, laws, and with utter contempt towards bureaucrats – including senior officers.

This complete lack of understanding or a deliberate case of amnesia by the politicians is understandable.  For such an attitude allows them to overlord the Executive, even when they do not hold the constitutional offices of the Ministers, while remaining safe under the cover of Legislature.  Nothing exhibits this arrogance as truthfully as the ordinary MP’s demand that their salary be fixed higher than that of senior bureaucrats.

While the disregard for healthy discussions, debates, and respect towards the Opposition benches has disappeared in many (almost all?) State Legislatures, it was thankfully absent till the 16th Lok Sabha which emerged with Narendra Modi as PM of India in May 2014.

But with the emergence of Narendra Modi as PM, the Opposition, was derided, taunted for losing the General Elections (so badly) , and the executive government acted as if they need not debate any laws or issues in the Parliament.  This is typical attitude in many state legislatures, and no doubt brought along from Gujarat by Narendra Modi.

The running of the Legislature (both is Centre and in the States) in the fashion of a corporate AGM is exactly what the India Inc wants, and what this sell out Modi regime repeatedly attempts.

To get back the point, for those shouting that the Parliament should Function, even the disruption is a function of the Parliament.  The Parliament is not a rubber stamp to pass all proposed legislations or laws by the executive government.  The government of the day owes it to the Parliament as an institution, and to the people of India, to accommodate the modifications suggested by the Opposition, or work around alternate solutions.

If the government of the day cannot accommodate the Opposition, and instead continues to deride, taunt, or try scare tactics, their opponents would have no other option to disrupt the Parliament and take to the streets.  We have seen those happening in our neighbourhood – from Bangladesh and Nepal to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia, and even Pakistan whenever they managed a semblance of democracy.


For whatever it is worth, to those who shout (and those who don’t, yet feel) SansadChaldeDo, and especially to Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu – here is India Civics Lesson #1.




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