Q.15 Individual Parliamentarian’s role as the national lawmaker is on a decline, which in turn, has adversely impacted the quality of debates and their outcome. 

Model answer:

Introduction

The declining role of individual parliamentarians in lawmaking weakens the parliamentary system, impacting the quality of debates and legislative outcomes.

Body

Causes of Decline in Parliamentarian’s Role

  1. Excessive Party Influence: The whip system limits MPs' independence. MPs often vote along party lines, reducing individual contributions.
  2. Inadequate Parliamentary Sessions: fewer sittings lead to rushed lawmaking. Shorter sessions decrease the time for thorough debate and deliberation.
  3. Lack of Expertise: Parliamentarians lack specialized knowledge in complex issues. It mpacts their ability to contribute meaningfully in discussions.
  4. Weak Committee Functioning: committees often lack technical support which limits the depth of legislative scrutiny and informed debate.
  5. Rise of Ordinances: Increasing reliance on ordinances bypasses parliamentary discussion and reduces the role of MPs in the legislative process.

Measures to Improve the Role of Parliamentarians

  1. Strengthen Committee Systems: empower committees with technical experts. It will lead to better-informed legislative scrutiny and recommendations.
  2. Increase Parliamentary Sittings: mandate more sessions to enhance legislative deliberations.
  3. Limit Party Whips: Relax whip enforcement in non-critical bills. It will encourage independent contributions from MPs.
  4. Training and Capacity Building: Provide MPs with training on specialized issues to improve their ability to engage in complex policy discussions.
  5. Enhance Transparency and Accountability: Use digital platforms for real-time legislative debates.

Conclusion

Improving the role of individual parliamentarians requires reforms in parliamentary procedures, expertise building, and encouraging independent voices. Such measures would elevate the quality of legislative debates and lead to more informed and effective policymaking.

Instant Mains Evaluation with SuperKalam‍

:white_check_mark:

Now that you have gone through the model answer, try practicing and writing it in your own words and evaluate it instantly with SuperKalam here - Evaluate Mains Answer instantly

Read more blogs