Prez hails Parl Budget session for being low on disruptions

President Pranab Mukherjee today told legislators in Uttarakhand Assembly that disruptions in either Parliament or state Assemblies were not desirable even as he hailed the just-concluded Budget Session of Parliament for being low on interruptions and forced adjournments.
Expressing concern over the fewer number of hours being devoted to legislative business, he urged state MLAs that "for God's sake, don't indulge in disruptions... It is unwelcome".
He said more time should be devoted to House proceedings and business so that "we do not fail to deliver on the desired results or meet objectives".
Talking about the Budget session of Parliament, Mukherjee expressed happiness that there were fewer interruptions and adjournments this time.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that the current 16th Lok Sabha has assumed its role and responsibilities in the right earnest. Until now, the 16th Lok Sabha has sat for 90 days and passed 55 Bills. Twenty-four bills were passed in the just- concluded fourth session.
"Further, the House sat late for 55 hours and 19 minutes in the fourth session to transact urgent government business. Seven hours and four minutes were sadly lost due to interruptions and forced adjournments. Thankfully, this was lesser than in many previous sessions," he said.

He also hailed first-time MPs for taking part in debates.

"Let me add that a noteworthy feature of this Lok Sabha is that there are 318 first timers and the time spent on quality debates and discussions has gone up considerably," he said.
Given the heightened complexity of administration, legislation must be preceded by debate and thorough scrutiny, he said, adding that "if not, it will fail to deliver the desired results or meet its objectives".
"These is need for utmost caution in matters of legislation, money and finance," Mukherjee stressed.
"It must be kept in mind that no expenditure can be incurred by the Executive, no tax levied and no money withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of the State without the approval of the Legislature... You have to properly scrutinise these things as there may be serious errors (in these proposals)," he said.