Lack of parliamentary debate dangerous for country: Deora

There is definitely a need to discuss issues more deeply, he says

Cautioning that lack of debate was dangerous for the country, Minister of State for Communication and IT, Milind Deora today underlined the need for discussing issues more deeply in Parliament.

"There is definitely a need to discuss issues more deeply in Parliament. There are issues like foreign policy, defence preparedness, agriculture... Sometimes (demands of) thousands of crores get passed without a debate," he said.

"Of course, lack of debate is dangerous for the country," Deora told reporters here.

On BJP leader Varun Gandhi's remarks about the low standard of debates in Parliament, the minister said, "I don't know who he is blaming for it, but I think Parliament, collectively all MPs, have to do a better job.

"Do we need to improve the debate in the Parliament? Definitely. Is it because of leadership in Parliament, is it because of constituents not being aware and not holding the leaders accountable? I think all these are issues we need to address," Deora said.

Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot said, "I don't think the level of debate is good or bad. The members of Parliament do tremendous amount of work to debate on issues which may not be natural to them but they make an effort.

"I think some MPs give fantastic inputs which become a part of law. You may be a leader or member of the opposition party, but if your points are valid, the ministry and the departments take cognisance of the fact and that happens in any healthy democracy.

"I am not in full agreement that the quality of debate is low. I think if you look at some of the speeches....The amount of effort that goes into making that debate is fantastic," he said.