Most feel Parliament's getting worse, with MPs not attending, not taking part in debates, and so on. A comparison of Budget sessions from 2005 shows Parliament worked less (38 days in 2005 versus 30 in 2008) and passed less bills (15 bills versus 9 in the same period). But this may be a one-sided view and, if anyone is to blame for less bills getting passed, it's the government. Data from PRS Legislative Research shows MPs are asking more questions (this rose from 461 in Monsoon 2004 to 560 in Budget 2008 session), more are being answered (this rose from 10% to 19%) and more time is being spent debating bills (in the Lok Sabha, just 39% of bills in 2005 were debated for more than 2 hours as compared to 80% in Budget 2008 session; in the Rajya Sabha, this rose from 29% to 50%). While the number of working hours during budget sessions is nearly the same between 2005 and 2008, it soared since last year. Budget 2007 saw the Lok Sabha work 4 hours a day and the Rajya Sabha 2.9 hours "� this rose to 5.8 hours and 4.7 hours respectively in Budget 2008. |
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