Winter of Discontent

The argument for not holding Winter session does not hold water as the daily corona caseload has come down significantly

The NDA government’s decision not to hold the winter session of Parliament, citing fears over a surge in the Covid-19 cases, is quite disappointing. A session, even a curtailed one, would have provided the lawmakers a much-needed platform to discuss pressing issues: the contentious farm laws and the prolonged farmers’ agitation demanding their repeal; the seven-month-old border standoff with China that is nowhere near resolution; and the action plan for the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. A healthy debate with room for nuance and scrutiny is what makes the democracy vibrant. The argument for doing away with the session does not hold water as the daily coronavirus caseload of the country, in general, and Delhi, in particular, has come down significantly. In fact, the monsoon session was held in September despite the country recording over 26 lakh infections in that month alone, accounting for one-fourth of the total cases so far, and more than 33,000 deaths. Amid the challenging conditions, Covid-19 protocols were strictly enforced then and, in fact, the monsoon session was hailed as one of the most productive ever. The government needs to explain why similar measures cannot be implemented now when the overall situation is far better. One wonders why the winter session should be scrapped when Covid-19 situation has not stopped other activities like election campaigning or laying the foundation stone for a new Parliament building. The pandemic should not be used as an excuse to undermine an essential democratic process.

A report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union shows that more than 105 countries across the world have held multiple parliamentary sessions amidst the pandemic. Ironically enough, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the new Parliament building last week, had underscored the importance of dialogue and hailed Indian democracy for its vibrancy. Holding the House sitting at this time would have affirmed the government’s intent to encourage deliberations on thorny matters and look for solutions through consensus. However, the Centre appears to be shying away from a debate with the Opposition. The winter session normally starts from the last week of November or first week of December. The Constitution broadly stipulates that there should not be a gap of more than six months between two sessions of Parliament. However, it has been a convention to hold three sessions— budget, monsoon and winter — in a year. A Parliament session is not merely about some technicalities of procedures and rules but about displaying the spirit of accommodation, allowing wider consultations and subjecting government bills to greater scrutiny. The suspension of Question Hour during the monsoon session had eroded the right of the members to confront the government on public issues.

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