Need to develop attitude to discuss than stall Parl: Ansari

Voicing concern over frequent Parliament disruptions, Vice President Hamid Ansari today said "arming the Chair with police powers" to punish errant MPs was not the solution and there was a need to develop attitude to discuss, debate and decide.
Interacting with the media accompanying him on way to Brunei on the first leg of his two-nation visit, Ansari, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, said Parliament has been disrupted from time-to-time for one reason or another.
"The issue is not that of powers. Parliamentary democracy presupposes, as the President has also talked about discussion, debate and then decision. Now, for one reason or another, Parliament has got disrupted from time to time," he said in reply to a query whether he would seek more powers for the Presiding Officers of Rajya Sabha to punish those who disrupt functioning of the House.

"So, the question is not of arming the chair with police powers. That is neither here nor there. Question is to develop an attitude in which all sections of the House consider it more appropriate to discuss, debate and decide," he said.
Ansari has repeatedly voiced his anguish over frequent disruptions in the House. Last month, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien pitched for laws to deny salary and allowances to members who do not allow the Houses to function.
When asked whether the forthcoming Budget Session will continue to witness disruptions, Ansari said: "I am not an astrologer."

Ansari, who will go to Thailand from Brunei, said India is satisfied with that country on the issue of cooperation on counter-terrorism.

"Counter-terrorism is a field where the two governments (India and Thailand) are talking at the appropriate level. That is work which is ongoing," he said.
On the rise of ISIS in Southeast Asia, he said: "There are two aspects to it. One is an ideology of achieving some political objectives through terror acts. This phenomenon can surface in different countries which will deal with it the way they deal with terror.
"Then there is the West Asia phenomenon of ISIS with occasional overflow to other countries," he said without elaborating.