Understand pain of new MPs: PM Modi on Day 1 of Parliament winter session

Urges MPs to make winter session productive, provide more opportunities to young parliamentarians

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s appeal to political parties to ‘understand the pain of new Members of Parliament (MPs)’ by giving them a chance to speak and avoiding disruption was the highlight of the first day of the winter session of Parliament on Wednesday. 

Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar, in his maiden speech, echoed the note struck by the PM and warned members against undermining democracy by disrupting House proceedings.

Dhankhar also expressed concern over breaching the doctrine of the separation of powers and observed “any incursion by one (agency), howsoever subtle, in the domain of others has the potential to upset the governance apple cart”. 

“We are indeed faced with this grim reality of frequent incursions,” he said, citing the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) 2015 order on the 99th Constitutional Amendment Bill paving the way for the National Judicial Appointments Commission. 

“This historic parliamentary mandate was undone by the SC on October 16, 2015, by a majority of 4:1 finding the same as not being in consonance with the judicially evolved doctrine of the basic structure of the Constitution,” Dhankhar said in his speech. 

“We need to bear in mind that in democratic governance, the basis of any basic structure is the prevalence of primacy of the mandate of the people reflected in Parliament. It is disconcerting to note that on such a momentous issue, so vital to the democratic fabric, there has been no focus in Parliament now for over seven years. This House, in concert with the Lok Sabha, being the custodian of the ordainment of the people, is duty bound to address the issue, and I am sure it will do so.”

The results of the municipal elections in Delhi also engaged MPs.

Modi said India’s Presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) had catapulted it to the world stage and all eyes were on the country: Parliament needed to be mindful of this.

“In this session, efforts will be made to take important decisions to take the country to new heights of development in the current global climate. I’m confident all parties will add value to the debates,” he said.

“When I unofficially met MPs over the past few days, they said any ruckus in the House and a subsequent adjournment affected them. When discussions aren’t held, young MPs are deprived of any learning/understanding,” said Modi, adding, “India has made a place for itself in the global community. With its increasing global participation, expectations from it too are on the rise. India hosting the G20 is a huge opportunity.”

Earlier in the day, a meeting convened by the Congress and Opposition parties defined the course of the winter session discourse. Interestingly, both the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, which have not attended such meetings in the past, were in attendance.