Lok Sabha Speaker Expresses Concern Over Frequent Disruptions in Legislatures

Syllabus: GS2/ Polity and Governance

Context

• Recently Lok Sabha Speaker highlighted that frequent disruptions in Parliament and State Legislatures pose a serious challenge to democratic institutions.

Role of Legislatures in a Democracy

• Law-making: Legislatures enact laws that govern the country and address emerging social, economic, and political challenges.
• Executive Accountability: Legislatures hold the executive accountable through debates, Question Hour, motions, and committee scrutiny.
• Representation of People’s Interests: Legislatures provide a platform for elected representatives to articulate the concerns and aspirations of citizens.
• Policy Deliberation: Legislatures facilitate informed discussions on public policies, budgets, and developmental priorities.

Parliamentary & Legislative Disruptions

• Parliamentary and legislative disruptions refer to repeated interruptions, adjournments, protests, and disorderly conduct that prevent legislatures from effectively performing their constitutional functions.
• While disruptions have existed since the early decades of independence, their frequency and intensity have increased significantly since the 1990s with the rise of coalition politics and competitive parliamentary obstruction.
• Declining Legislative Productivity in India:
  • The 17th Lok Sabha (2019–2024) held only 274 sittings across 15 sessions, the lowest for any full-term Lok Sabha in Indian history.
  • The proportion of Bills referred to Parliamentary Standing Committees declined from 71% during the 15th Lok Sabha (2009–14) to 27% during the 16th Lok Sabha (2014–19) and around 16% during the 17th Lok Sabha (2019–24).
  • During the Monsoon Session 2025, the Lok Sabha functioned for only 29% of its scheduled time, while the Rajya Sabha functioned for only 34% of its scheduled time.

Causes of Frequent Disruptions

• Political Polarisation: Increasing political confrontation often leads to disruptions becoming a preferred mode of protest.
• Search for Public Attention: Political parties sometimes use disruptions to attract media coverage and highlight contentious issues.
• Contentious Issues and Lack of Consensus: Key policy matters such as economic reforms, minority rights, and constitutional amendments frequently lead to walkouts and protests.
  • Laws like Farm Bills (2020), Citizenship Amendment Act (2019), and GST rollout (2017) triggered walkouts and protests.
• Weak Adherence to Parliamentary Norms: Declining respect for parliamentary conventions and decorum contributes to disorderly proceedings.
• Limited Consensus-Building: Insufficient dialogue among political parties often results in legislative deadlocks and disruptions.

How do Frequent Disruptions Affect Democracy?

• Weaken Executive Oversight: Repeated adjournments diminish the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms such as Question Hour and parliamentary debates.
• Reduce Legislative Productivity: Disruptions result in the loss of valuable working hours and delay the passage of important legislation.
• Erode Public Trust: Persistent disorderly conduct lowers citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions and elected representatives.
• Increase Financial Costs: Frequent interruptions lead to the wastage of public resources spent on conducting legislative sessions.

Way Ahead

• Enforce Parliamentary Discipline: Legislative rules and codes of conduct should be strictly enforced to discourage disruptive behaviour.
• Strengthen Committee Systems: Parliamentary committees should be empowered to undertake detailed examination of policies and legislation.
• Encourage Constructive Opposition: Political parties should prioritise substantive debate and policy engagement over obstructionist tactics.
• Foster Citizen Engagement: Greater public participation can improve transparency, accountability, and trust in democratic institutions.

Concluding remarks

• Frequent disruptions weaken legislative effectiveness, undermine democratic accountability, and erode public confidence, making it essential to promote parliamentary decorum, constructive debate, and institutional strengthening to realise the vision of Viksit Bharat.

Source: TH