WOE UNTO THE NATION!

When Parliamentarians behave worse than naughty school children and the business of the nation is held to ransom, one wonders what sort of an independence we have achieved through all our trials and tribulations, the sacrifice of the masses over the years and the blood spilt from the bodies of our countless martyrs whose only dream was to liberate us from the shackles of political servitude, economic deprivation and social subjection. One watches with horror the proceedings of Parliament as members charge into the Well of the House, throw paper at the Chair and generally disrupt the functioning of the house through sloganeering, often a monotonous, irritating drone and often a belligerent barrage of verbal vehemence outstripping the standards of Parliamentary decorum. Such irresponsible conduct of the law-makers of the land sets such a low standard of civic behaviour that the youth of the nation have nothing worthwhile to learn from their political leaders and the nation at large can scarce reconcile to the gross wastage of legislative time in pursuance of petty politicking by the people’s representatives. A total of 11 bills were passed in the Lok Sabha and only 3 were passed in the Rajya Sabha which was the worst hit by continuous ruckus caused by the Opposition benches. The nation is on the move and India is fast becoming a global economic powerhouse. But this progress is being significantly retarded by the indiscriminate indiscipline of our lawmakers. Parliament must formulate punitive measures to be adopted against errant legislators who violate the norms of the House and obstruct its smooth functioning. Such measures must be statutory and auto-effective the moment such violation takes place. For instance, a member charging into the Well of the House must be liable to automatic expulsion from the House for the day or for several days or for the entire Session, depending on the number of such violations made by him. Such stringency alone will make our Parliament function properly and allow the business of the House to be conducted in the desired manner. One looks forward to the next Session of Parliament to see if there is any improvement in the behaviour of our esteemed legislators. Till then, we, the citizens of this great country, must carry on manfully our own task of building our nation in our own small way. Let our leaders learn from us what it is to be patriotic, what unselfishness is all about and what the motherland means to every Indian. We will proceed despite our regressive politicians and we will march ahead to occupy pride of place in the comity of nations. Jai Hind!