Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Welcome move

All of us know that the taxpayers’ hard-earned money is being wasted by a few politicians in Parliament for cheap publicity. The house is disrupted, day in and day out. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee tried his level best to conduct the house smoothly.

He took the step of referring the cases of disorderly behaviour by 32 MPs to the Privileges Committee only after four years of the present Lok Sabha. Had he done this earlier, discipline of the house would perhaps have been maintained. Fruitful discussions would have taken place.

M.E. Manickavasagom,

Nagercoil

The Speaker’s move is most welcome. The BJP which has not come to terms with the loss of power has made a concerted bid to defame, demean and discredit the Chair. Mr. Chatterjee, a senior Member of Parliament, gave a long rope to the MPs. The people’s representatives are expected to behave in Parliament and perform the duties expected of them. If they don’t, the Speaker has to take tough decisions to make way for democratic debates in Parliament.

K.N. Bhagavan,

Bangalore

Pandemonium in the house far exceeds the time taken for meaningful discussions. The Speaker as the CEO of the house has a duty of ensuring not only its smooth conduct but also the gainful employment of the members.

It has become a practice among some MPs to disrupt the proceedings much to the chagrin of the Indian electorate that has voted for them. Another proposal that should be implemented is the no work, no pay principle. Besides, the cost incurred in running the house should be collected from the political party or member disrupting it.

S.R. Badrinarayanan,

Chennai

It is unfortunate that the Speaker was left with no choice other than referring the disorderly behaviour of our MPs to the Privileges Committee. In the last four years, we hardly had a day when Parliament transacted business through meaningful debates. We yearn to see lively debates on issues such as inflation and agrarian crisis but what we get to watch are unruly scenes. This is not the parliamentary democracy our constitutional fathers envisioned. The Speaker, an erudite parliamentarian and effective custodian of parliamentary democracy, is only sharing the anguish of many of us whose fervent hopes have been dashed by the happenings in Parliament.

C.P. Prasanth Gopal,

Chennai

The Speaker deserves praise for taking the bold and timely action against the MPs involved in stalling Parliament. Of course, elected MPs have the right to raise issues in the house. But, at the same time, they have the obligation of paying heed to the Chair and maintaining discipline. The Privileges Committee is expected to deal with the erring MPs without fear or favour.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai,

Tuticorin

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