New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal on Friday claimed that the relevance of Parliament is "gradually declining" as those in power don't care much about it and focus on issues which are irrelevant
for the current times.
The senior advocate, who is an Independent MP, said this trend is "extremely dangerous" for democracy because the real issues are not discussed in Parliament.
"I feel the relevance of our Parliament is gradually declining. There are fewer sittings now and people thing nothing happens there. This is extremely dangerous for democracy, because the real issues are not discussed. Instead, such topics are raised that are irrelevant to the present day," he told a press conference on the final day of the Winter Session of Parliament.
The Winter Session was held from December 1-19 during which 15 sittings, he pointed out.
"When we were in Parliament earlier, the Winter Session used to start on November 20. In 2017, there were 13 sittings, in 2022, there were 13 sittings, in 2023, there were 14 sittings. If his continues debates that should happen will not take place. It seems those in power have don't care much about the Parliament," the former Union minister said.
He pointed out that the Opposition wanted a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls on December 1 because SIR is the biggest issue in the country today.
"If the electoral roll is polluted how will we breathe in ademocracy. So, SIR should be discussed. But they said we can't discuss it as it is in court but even Bofors was in court but it was discussed in Parliament. But they are using it as an excuse because they don't want the actions the Election Comission takes at their behest to be revealed to the public," Sibal alleged.
"First the government stated that it will debate on Vande Mataram. How is the 'Vande Mataram' issue relevant today? Does the RSS sing 'Vande Mataram'? Does BJP start its meetings with 'Vande Mataram'? They also used to not believe in the national anthem. Those people who sided with the British in 1942 talk of Vande Mataram today," he said.
Then they stated that they will discuss electoral reforms but what electoral reforms have they done, he asked.
"It was all done by us, which they misused," Sibal said.
Their objective is to topple state governments and when they have all states under they control, they want to change the constitution to ensure -- 'One nation, one election; one nation, one language and one nation, one party'.
Sibal also slammed the government for bringing bills on nuclear energy, FDI and repealing MGNREGA, questioning their intent in bringing in the clauses in the bills that they have.
Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, drawing curtains on the 19-day-long Winter Session of Parliament which saw the passage of crucial bills, including one to repeal the 20-year-old MNREGA and another on opening up the civil nuclear sector for private participation.
The G RAM G Bill, assuring 125 days of guaranteed jobs for rural India, was passed amid opposition protests on Thursday, including tearing of papers.
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, which seeks to open the tightly-controlled civil nuclear sector for private participation, was also passed during the session.
Lok Sabha also passed a bill to raise FDI in the insurance sector to 100 per cent from the current 74 per cent, which is expected to increase insurance penetration, lower premiums, and boost job creation.
Rajya Sabha was also adjourned sine die.
The Upper House sat past midnight on Thursday to pass the legislation that replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA). PTI ASK ZMN
