Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman suggests evolving parliamentary disruption index

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Wednesday suggested evolving a 'Parliamentary Disruption Index' as a measure to monitor disruptions to reduce "incidents of indiscipline".

He made the suggestion during discussions at Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India which was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla earlier in the day.

Among the suggestion made during the discussion was on evolving a code of conduct for members to minimise disruptions especially relating to suspension for entering and protesting in the well of the House.

The conference held discussions on its agenda item 'Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy and Capacity Building through in house devices including Zero Hour'.

According to an official release, the proceedings were Chaired by Birla and co-chaired by Uttarakhand assembly Speaker Prem Chand Aggarwal and Harivansh.

Initiating the discussion on the agenda item, Harivansh said a 'Parliamentary Disruption Index' may be evolved as a measure to monitor disruptions in the chamber.

He said this may also help deter incidences of indiscipline and would lead to the availability of more time for debate and discussion on issues before the House.

Apart from Harivansh, 10 other speakers shared their views and gave valuable suggestions.

The release said that among the major findings during the discussions was that capacity building and training for members will lead to fewer disruptions and improve their functioning, besides increasing the quality of debates in the House.

Other findings included evolving a code of conduct for members to "minimise disruptions in the House, especially relating to suspension for entering and protesting in the well of the House", making efforts for uniformity of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, increasing sittings of state legislatures and media covering positive debates.

On the initiative of the Lok Sabha Speaker, proceedings of the conference were conducted in line with Zero Hour in which the delegates raised issues specific to their Legislatures.