Par system will benefit if there are more working days: Patil

Parliamentary system will become more effective if MPs and MLAs are given more opportunity to take part in debates, but lesser number of working days of law-making bodies are coming in the way, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil said today.
"We can strengthen the parliamentary democratic system by giving more time for members to speak. Unfortunately, that's not happening. The number of working days of Parliament came down to just about 70 days now from 180-190 days during the time of Jawaharlal Nehru," he said.
Patil was addressing members of both Houses of Andhra Pradesh Assembly this evening after inaugurating a three-day orientation programme as a precursor to the establishment of 12 department-related Standing Committees in the State Legislature.

"If the Executive is working for 365 days...Judiciary can work for 365 days, why can't legislatures do that ? If we don't save democracy, what will save us?" Patil questioned.
Referring to department-related Standing Committees in Parliament, the former Lok Sabha Speaker noted that they laid a "strong foundation" for parliamentary democracy.
"The Standing Committees in Parliament are very successful. They are successful because members (of Parliament) are happy. They are happy because they are involved in discussion on every subject and are able to contribute their bit," Patil said.
The main objective of the Standing Committees was to make larger number of MPs participate in the law-making process right from the initial stages.

"In Lok Sabha, no Bill shall be passed without a reference to the respective Standing Committees. Of course, the Rajya Sabha has a different set of rules in this regard," he said.