New Delhi: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday suggested that Parliament should meet minimum 100 days a year, while State Assemblies should meet for minimum 90 days, so that more and more discussions can take place and called upon all political parties to build a ‘consensus’ on the same.
“Parliament should meet a minimum of 100 days a year. State Assemblies should also meet a minimum 90 days a year. All the political parties must have a ‘consensus,’ so that more discussions and scrutiny take place, leading to good ideas, which will be useful for the governments,” Naidu said, while speaking at the Centennial Year Celebration of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the Central Hall of Parliament. Take a consistent stand in this regard instead of speaking differently while in Opposition and in the Government, he said, adding, ‘this attitude is not going to help’.
Naidu, who is also the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, stressed on improving the functioning of Committees of Parliament, as they enable bi-partisan discussions, rising above the political divide. “Discipline, time sense and ethics should guide all those in public life because people look to leaders for guidance. We should not disappoint them,” he observed.
In an apparent reference to the ongoing uproar by the Opposition in Rajya Sabha over the suspension of 12 MPs, he said “The House is not functioning, this also should be taken care of. The House should function effectively and meaningfully and that should be the attitude of all. Yes, we are in a political system, politics naturally will be there. But at the end of the day, people’s welfare and the country’s progress and also the image of Parliament has to be kept in mind.” The VP further called for a wider debate on the ‘freebies’ being doled out to ensure the most effective utilisation of scarce resources in the country.
He called for harmonizing the expenditure on freebies under welfare obligations of the governments with developmental needs and urged the PAC of Parliament to examine this aspect to enable wider public discussion.
