Parliament disruptions
Kartavya Desk Staff
Source: FL
Subject: Parliament —Structure, Functioning
Context: The 2025 Winter Session opened amid protests over electoral roll revision and a sharply curtailed sitting schedule, again stalling both Houses in the first days.
About Parliament disruptions:
What is Parliament?
• Parliament is the supreme legislative body of India, consisting of the President, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha (Article 79).
• It performs four core functions: lawmaking, budget approval, executive accountability, and voicing people’s concerns.
Key Constitutional Provisions:
• Article 79–122: Deal with composition, powers, privileges and procedures of Parliament.
• Article 80: Composition of Rajya Sabha (Council of States).
• Article 81: Composition of Lok Sabha (House of the People).
• Article 107: Procedure for passing of Bills and both Houses must “agree” to the Bill.
• Article 118: Each House may make rules of procedure.
• Articles 120–121: Language in Parliament and limits on discussion regarding conduct of judges.
Trends in Disruptions and Decline in Functioning:
• Falling Number of Sittings: Early Lok Sabhas met for 120–130 days/year; recent ones average 55–70 days/year, with some years barely ~60 sittings. The 17th Lok Sabha (2019–24) became the shortest full-term House since 1952 in terms of days sat.
• Early Lok Sabhas met for 120–130 days/year; recent ones average 55–70 days/year, with some years barely ~60 sittings.
• The 17th Lok Sabha (2019–24) became the shortest full-term House since 1952 in terms of days sat.
• Frequent and Organised Disruptions: Disruption has become an accepted “strategy”: prolonged slogan-shouting, entering the Well, adjournments.
• Disruption has become an accepted “strategy”: prolonged slogan-shouting, entering the Well, adjournments.
• Bills Passed with Little or No Debate: A significant share of Bills are now passed within days of introduction, often in the midst of din. In recent Lok Sabhas, many Bills were passed with less than an hour of discussion, and large parts of the Budget passed without debate.
• A significant share of Bills are now passed within days of introduction, often in the midst of din.
• In recent Lok Sabhas, many Bills were passed with less than an hour of discussion, and large parts of the Budget passed without debate.
• Drop in Committee Scrutiny: Share of Bills referred to departmental standing committees has fallen from 60–70% earlier to well below 30% in recent terms.
• Share of Bills referred to departmental standing committees has fallen from 60–70% earlier to well below 30% in recent terms.
• Question Hour and Oversight Time Shrinking: Question Hour often runs for only half or less of its scheduled time due to adjournments.
Reasons for Parliamentary Disruptions:
• Government’s Majoritarian Style: Limited pre-session consultation on legislative agenda and reluctance to allow structured debates on Opposition-raised issues. Perception that the executive “bulldozes” Bills using its numbers, making Parliament a rubber stamp.
• Limited pre-session consultation on legislative agenda and reluctance to allow structured debates on Opposition-raised issues.
• Perception that the executive “bulldozes” Bills using its numbers, making Parliament a rubber stamp.
• Opposition’s Strategy of “Agitation Inside the House”: Opposition parties treat disruption as a legitimate democratic tactic to highlight issues when they feel ignored or denied time.
• Erosion of Informal Conventions and Trust:
Earlier, all-party meetings, back-channel consultations and floor management helped avoid deadlock.
• Growing polarisation and personalised attacks have eroded mutual trust needed for compromise.
• Growing polarisation and personalised attacks have eroded mutual trust needed for compromise.
• Media Incentives and Optics: Disruptions provide high-impact visuals for TV and social media, creating perverse incentives for theatrics.
• Weak Enforcement of Rules: Presiding officers hesitate to use suspension/expulsion powers without all-party consensus.
Implications of Persistent Disruptions:
• Weakening of Legislative Scrutiny: Bills passed without adequate debate or committee review may contain drafting errors, rights concerns or federal issues, reducing quality of laws.
• Erosion of Executive Accountability: Loss of Question Hour and debates means fewer opportunities to question ministers, weakening checks and balances.
• Undermining Federal and Plural Voices: Smaller parties and regional interests lose speaking time when the House is in constant uproar, centralising discourse.
• Loss of Public Trust in Institutions: Citizens see Parliament as a “shouting arena”, not a forum of reasoned deliberation, feeding cynicism about democracy.
• Marginalisation of MPs’ Representative Role: MPs cannot effectively raise constituency grievances or policy concerns; Parliament’s link between people and policy weakens.
• Precedent of Tit-for-Tat Politics: Each side justifies its behaviour by pointing to past disruptions by the other, trapping Parliament in a cycle of mutual vendetta.
Way Ahead:
• All-Party Code of Conduct: Negotiate a formal, written, and publicly known code limiting entry into the Well, slogan-shouting, and repeated adjournment tactics. Make graduated penalties (naming, suspension for specific days, loss of allowances) predictable and uniformly applied.
• Negotiate a formal, written, and publicly known code limiting entry into the Well, slogan-shouting, and repeated adjournment tactics.
• Make graduated penalties (naming, suspension for specific days, loss of allowances) predictable and uniformly applied.
• Guaranteed Space for Opposition: Reserve fixed days or time-slots each week or session (on the UK model of “Opposition Days”) for issues chosen by the Opposition. In return, Opposition commits not to disrupt other listed business.
• Reserve fixed days or time-slots each week or session (on the UK model of “Opposition Days”) for issues chosen by the Opposition.
• In return, Opposition commits not to disrupt other listed business.
• Minimum Sitting Days by Law: Enact a law or convention mandating at least 100–120 sitting days per year, with a pre-announced calendar. This ensures enough time for Bills, Budget, Question Hour, and discussions.
• Enact a law or convention mandating at least 100–120 sitting days per year, with a pre-announced calendar.
• This ensures enough time for Bills, Budget, Question Hour, and discussions.
• Mandatory Committee Scrutiny for Key Bills: Make referral to standing/select committees the default for complex, rights-sensitive and economic Bills, with minimum time for review.
• Make referral to standing/select committees the default for complex, rights-sensitive and economic Bills, with minimum time for review.
• Stronger Floor Management and Pre-Legislative Consultation: Institutionalise pre-legislative consultation papers, stakeholder inputs and all-party briefings on major Bills. This reduces surprises and mistrust, lowering the incentive to block proceedings.
• Institutionalise pre-legislative consultation papers, stakeholder inputs and all-party briefings on major Bills.
• This reduces surprises and mistrust, lowering the incentive to block proceedings.
Conclusion:
Parliamentary disruption has become systemic, weakening the core functions of India’s legislature. Both government and Opposition are responsible—one for stifling debate, the other for replacing deliberation with obstruction. Restoring dignity requires more sittings, assured space for dissent, firm rule enforcement, and a culture where disagreements are settled by debate, not disorder.
Q. Persistent disruptions in Parliament signal deeper structural and procedural shortcomings. Evaluate this in the context of recent Rajya Sabha logjams. Outline the institutional safeguards to prevent such deadlocks. (10 M)