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How the 16th Lok Sabha fared
Why in news?
- The 16th Lok Sabha had its final sitting last Wednesday.
- This Lok Sabha was surpassed only by the preceding one in terms of the low number of hours it worked.
- It met for 1,615 hours, 40% lower than all full-term Parliaments.
- This Lok Sabha sat for 331 days (against a 468-day average for all previous full-term Lok Sabhas), and lost 16% of its time to disruptions.
More in news
Important Legislations
- The IIM Act gave premier management educational institutions a level of autonomy not available to other public educational institutions.
- GST and I&B code was enacted.
- Juvenile Justice Act allowed children (between 16 and 18 years) accused of committing heinous crimes to be prosecuted as adults.
- The Prevention of Corruption Act was amended to make bribe-giving an offence.
Manner of bill Passing:
- Aadhaar Act was passed as a Money Bill.
- Finance Bills, in the last few years, have included items which have no relation to taxes or to expenditure of the government.
- Finance Bill, 2015 included provisions to merge the regulator of commodity exchanges with the SEBI.
- Finance Bill, 2016 included amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act which relate to donations to non-profits.
- Finance Bill, 2016 included amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act which relate to donations to non-profits.
Need for reviewing Anti-defection Law:
- Triple Talaq Bill and the Citizenship Bill, were passed by the Lok Sabha but will lapse as they were not passed by the Rajya Sabha.
- They were held in check only due to a lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha; even this check was bypassed occasionally using the Money Bill route.
- The government could do this as a result of the anti-defection provision which gives complete control of all-party votes to the party leadership. This law has converted MPs from being representatives of the people to delegates of the party.
- If the party in government has a majority of its own, it can have any provision passed; even coalition governments have convinced just a handful of leaders of their alliance partners.
Way forward:
- Parliament plays the central role in our democracy by holding the government to account and scrutinizing proposed laws and financial priorities.
- It is time to ponder on how to make this institution more effective.
- An important step will be by reviewing the anti-defection law that has hollowed out the institution.
Source
The Hindu