Skip to main content

Let my country awake...



Whatever happened in Parliament today has saddened me a lot. I say that, because I started following Indian politics at a very early age of my life. I have always read about it and ask any of my friends, family, relatives, even office colleagues; I am very passionate about it. I always take part in political debates whether they are dining table conversations with my family, or with an autowallah while commuting. I have also defended my Indian Democracy and its ideals whenever necessary- be it on streets or on social media. 

 I despise anarchists.

There is a change which is taking place. A gradual change where cynicism with Indian politicians has started resulted into shades of anarchy. The whole Anna Hazare movement started that cynicism, but ultimately - Anarchism was defeated and Democracy won.

 I have been a Congress supporter all my life. Come what may, I will remain so. But we are Indian first. I am proud of Indian Democracy, Indian values and its Constitution. I am damn proud of the foundations of Indian institutions which our forefathers have so painstakingly nurtured. 

If the Parliament is reduced to a charade, with the opposition and the ruling coalition not been able to control their MP's who indulge in pepper spraying, vandalising and slogan shouting, then it’s a matter of deep shame. If as an ordinary citizen of this country, we feel the shame that this incident has brought our country, then those who are responsible must feel the shame. 

There are numerous bills pending in the Parliament. Last 3 years, Parliament sessions have been the worst ever in modern India.

Parliament : Vital Stats in 2011
  • 30% of the available time in 2011 was lost to disruptions 
  • 54 Bills listed for consideration and passing; 28 actually passed
  • In Lok Sabha, 18% of the Bills were passed in less than 5 minutes 
  • 11% of the Starred Questions were answered orally on the floor of the House in Lok Sabha
  • 81 Private Members’ Bills were introduced in Lok Sabha; four came up for discussion


Parliament : Vital Stats in 2012

  • 36% of allocated time in Parliament was lost to disruption in 2012
  • In 2012, 22 Bills were passed by both Houses 
  • Eleven bills were passed with less than 30 minutes discussion
  • 10% of starred questions were answered orally in Parliament 
Parliament : Vital Stats in 2013



  • In Monsoon Session- Productive time in Lok Sabha was 58%
  • In Monsoon Session- Question Hour was disrupted on all days, but one in Lok Sabha 
  • In Monsoon Session- Of the 43 Bills listed for passing this session, 
  • 12 Bills were passed123 Bills are pending in Parliament at the end of the Monsoon Session
  • In Winter Session - Question Hour was disrupted on all days, no question answered in Rajya Sabha
  • In Winter Session- Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill passed, 126 Bills pending with only one session left
  • In Winter Session - No Private Members’ Business was conducted 


( Courtesy : PRS Legislative  ) 

There is a serious questioning confronting us. India-the largest democracy of the world is witnessing less and less work through its Parliament. Crores and crores of rupees is being wasted. Hundreds of bills are pending. Reforms are pending. Many bills can change India forever. Judicial reforms, electoral reforms and administrative reforms are pending. Bills that may change the face of India, are not seeing the light of the day. Crucuial economic bills are also pending. 

There is an iminent danger that our future generations will start losing faith in this system. They will start losing faith in the Parliament. I always believe India is a mature Democracy, albeit a young one. But day after day, some doubts are being created. 

So what, if this session was the last session of Parliament? So what if there are serious divisions among MP's of Andhra Pradesh, regarding Telangana? So what if the opposition and the government have differences. We need to move ahead. That is the essence of Democracy. 

I am afraid, the opposite has happened. Democracy has been shamed.

(With Deep Sadness)

My father, Let my country awake…

Comments

Shwastik Saraswat said…
Your line , ' I'm a congress supporter', vanished my spirit to read your entire post. Seriously !
February 13, 2014 at 11:06 AM
Rachit Seth said…
@Shwastik Saraswat

Do I even care?
February 13, 2014 at 11:08 AM
Unknown said…
Neither of the two largest parties of our country will allow each other to pass such reforms at large...these bills will keep remaining pending...perhaps more will pile up...
February 13, 2014 at 11:28 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Emergency: India has moved on, but the BJP is stuck with it.

Lengthy Disclaimer: The purpose of this piece is not to either justify the Emergency or to defend it. The purpose is not to attack its ‘purpose’.   The purpose is placing the facts leading to the Emergency in the right context. The purpose is to tell the young students of Indian politics that we have to see the background in which such a measure was taken. Certain events in history have wide ranging repercussions, but as time goes, we also need to move on instead of earning cheap political brownie points which the BJP-RSS are indulging into. I do not want any acknowledgement for this piece, even from my Liberal friends, because I know nobody, including me can justify the excesses of the Emergency. I only attempt to bring in some unread facts in public domain. For this, I have taken the liberty to refer many books on the same topic written by people who were actually in the midst of it. All the views expressed by me here are my personal views and does not reflect the views o...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Nationalism Charade

"Jingoism, racism, fear, religious fundamentalism: these are the ways of appealing to people if you’re trying to organize a mass base of support for policies that are really intended to crush them." - Noam Chomsky When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. At the end of its half term, the Narendra Modi Government may be still cruising steadily in perception, but in reality the people of India have lost faith in this Government. Rapid signs of disillusionment are being witnessed on ground, in conversations with people and in the nature of the discourse. To its credit (or discredit), the Bharatiya Janata Party is aggressively fighting this perception battle with 3 M’s – the management of the media, the management of events and the management of opinion. The economy is in crises, foreign policy is confusing, reforms are stagnant and governance is diminishing. Devoid of any ideas, to keep the momentum of perception, the BJP has now adopted ‘Nationalism’ as the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tyranny and Treachery

BJP Government has miserably failed on each account and the Indian electorate is feeling the punch now. Disclaimer: This essay may look like a myriad mix of issues put together to make a larger point. Yes it is, because if we look through the dirty dingy kaleidoscope of Modi Govt’s failures; where each failure reflects on the other ; we come across the real tyranny and treachery of the Modi regime.  We are seeing at multiple issues boxed into one fascist regime- A regime where a fringe party has become mainstream but has not shed its core divisive emotive agendas. At the cost of being long, this essay reflects that deep-seated treachery which every Indian is feeling at the hands of Narendra Modi and sometimes is unable to articulate. A deep sense of betrayal has engulfed the people of India. A million mutinies are taking place in the hearts and minds of the people. Everyday a new socio-political issue bothers them and for a moment and enrages a feeling of utt...
Post a Comment
Read more