Editorial
Indifference to Parliament
An unhealthy dimension to it
In absence of the opposition, who are boycotting the parliament for some time now, the occasional absenteeism of the ruling party lawmakers deals a double blow to the whole idea of a functioning legislature.
The current session of the Jatiyo Sangsad is hit by poor attendance of the ruling party lawmakers which manifested during the question hour on Monday. Only five out of 26 lawmakers showed up to raise the scripted questions for ministers. This is an appalling reflection of neglect shown to the Parliament.
The deputy speaker, who was presiding over the proceedings, did the right thing by not allowing MPs to raise the scripted questions by proxy on behalf of absentee lawmakers. This move should be a strong message to the MPs who remained absent.
The question and answer session is an important part of the parliamentary proceedings. This is a medium through which the various issues of interest to the constituencies that members represent are brought into sharp focus. The questions when answered by the ministers enable people to grasp the authentic position of the ministries concerning issues put across by the members. In a way this also facilitates dissemination of information and oversight functions impacting on the performance of the ministries. The Prime Minister herself gets an insight into the working of various ministries.
The parliament is the place where people's will finds expression through the voices of the representatives. So any negligence to an important order of business in a parliamentary session amounts to erosion of people's trust. For, in the ultimate analysis, a lively parliament makes a pulsating democracy.
Regrettably, history of our parliament is to the contrary. We seldom witness parliament sessions at work with full house. There has been a constant quorum crisis that makes proceedings difficult. In fact, absence of law makers especially from the ruling party makes the house even less functional than it already is.
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