House sessions: Going through motions, little room for debate

Chandigarh : Call it losing interest of the legislators to engage in a debate on issues of public importance or the failure of the political system to churn out statesmen, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha sessions are not only getting shorter, but also noisier.
From 45 sittings annually between 1952 and 1969 that saw MLAs participating in high-quality debates while abiding by the parliamentary traditions, conventions and etiquette, the Assembly now meets for just 15 days. Once the winter session of the current Vidhan Sabha gets over on November 29, the total sitting of the House this year would be of 15 days again.
The previous decade of the Akali-BJP government was no better when the legislators sat for just 165 days. And that too were lost in the mayhem caused by the treasury and Opposition benches. It is more disturbing when the diminishing quality of legislators’ participation is seen in context of expenditure incurred on them. A legislator monthly costs the exchequer over Rs 1 lakh.
Amid the pandemonium, the legislative business is wrapped up in a few hours. Sample this: In the September 2016, 21 Bills were passed in 60 minutes without any debate. On the concluding day of the last Assembly session of the SAD-BJP dispensation, 21 Bills were passed in nearly an hour amid unruly scenes.
If the last Budget session saw the incident of turban tossing, the September 2016 session during the Akali government saw shoes being hurled at the treasury benches and books and paper missiles thrown at the Speaker. The arena of debate and discussion has now become more of a photo op for the elected representatives.