Legislators
Must Legislate, Not Just Agitate
The voice of the
people must be raised against the tendency of elected representatives to take
the voters for granted. Those who are elected to the Legislative Assemblies,
the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have a responsibility to the people who
elected them. People must be ready to question them when they fail to discharge
that responsibility. Otherwise, elected representatives may gradually deviate
from their real duties and act as they please. This cannot be allowed.
The monsoon session of
Parliament this year is a good example of the irresponsibility of our elected
representatives. The Lok Sabha reportedly functioned for only 17.5 hours—just
15 per cent of the scheduled time during the 25-day session. The Rajya Sabha
functioned for 37.4 hours, which was somewhat better, but still reflected a
serious loss of valuable parliamentary time.
On June 20, the
Cockroach Janata Party began a protest at Jantar Mantar against irregularities
in the NEET-UG examinations and demanded action, including cancellation of the
examination. On June 28, social activist Sonam Wangchuk began a hunger strike
in support of the youth. When the parliamentary session began on July 20, the
Cockroach Janata Party organised a march to Parliament as part of its protest,
demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
One could say that the
Opposition had remained largely asleep until then. The ruling party's police
confronted the protesting youth, reportedly using pellet guns. The Congress
then dramatically joined the protest, along with opposition student organisations
and other activists. Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 25, 2026.
Abhijit Deepke's
initiative was similar in spirit to the movements associated with Jayaprakash
Narayan in 1975, Anna Hazare in 2011 and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha in 2020. The
youth did what the political Opposition had failed to do. Their protest succeeded
in bringing the issue into the national spotlight.
But the proceedings of
Parliament were subsequently overshadowed by the Opposition's demand that Amit
Shah come to Parliament and answer who had ordered the use of pellet guns
against the protesting youth. The ruling party ignored the demand and, meanwhile,
several important bills were passed with little or no meaningful discussion on
their merits and demerits.
Among the bills passed
during the session were the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means)
Amendment Bill, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Amendment
Bill, the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, the Prevention of
Insults to National Honour Amendment Bill, the Registration of Births and
Deaths Amendment Bill, the Bankers' Books Evidence Amendment Bill, the Taxation
and Other Laws Amendment Bill, the National Cooperative Development Corporation
Amendment Bill, the Tribunals Reform Bill, the Mines and Minerals (Development
and Regulation) Amendment Bill and the Kerala Name Amendment Bill.
The Public
Examinations legislation, which affects millions of students across the
country, received around eleven hours of debate in the Lok Sabha and six and a
half hours in the Rajya Sabha. Yet the Opposition, particularly Rahul Gandhi,
appeared more interested in establishing whether Amit Shah had ordered the
alleged firing than in ensuring that every important piece of legislation
received adequate parliamentary scrutiny.
The Home Minister, who
is often portrayed as a strong and decisive leader, did not appear in the House
to answer the Opposition's demand. In the end, it appears that both the ruling
party and the Opposition contributed to the people being denied what they
deserve from Parliament.
The country seems to
have reached an unfortunate situation in which protests that should take place
outside Parliament are taking place inside it, while discussions that should
take place inside Parliament are increasingly being conducted outside.
When Kerala Chief
Minister V.D. Satheesan and CPI Tamil Nadu State Secretary M. Veerapandian
demanded the withdrawal of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)
Amendment Bill, one must ask: What were your Members of Parliament doing
when the Bill was introduced and debated in the House?
It is shocking that
the Lok Sabha reportedly took only 14 minutes to pass 11 Bills. Even the
valuable Question Hour was repeatedly lost amid these disruptions.
Parliamentary time is not the property of political parties; it belongs to the
people of India.
There is another
important issue that deserves attention. There are, broadly speaking, two kinds
of political leaders: people's leaders and national leaders. The
representatives who sit in legislatures and make laws that can either benefit
or harm millions of people must possess the ability to study issues carefully,
understand legislation and participate in serious debate.
Those who are skilled
organisers of agitations and mass movements have an important role too. They
can lead party organisations, mobilise people and conduct struggles in public
spaces. But political parties should also identify and field candidates who have
the ability to study complex issues and articulate them effectively in
legislatures.
Unfortunately, the
situation in India often appears to be the opposite. Those who are effective at
agitation are frequently sent to legislatures, while those who are capable of
serious legislative work are sometimes confined to party organisations. This is
one of the tragedies of our democracy.
The ultimate
responsibility, however, lies with the people—the voters. We must demand a
change in this system. We must insist that those who seek our votes must be
capable of representing our interests, studying legislation and questioning the
government effectively.
Let elected
representatives remember that Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies are not
stages for political theatre. They are institutions entrusted with the future
of the people.
Let the Cockroach
Janata Party, the youth and, above all, the people of India raise their voice
for this change.
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