Two terms of the Modi government have particularly been responsible for identified trends.
As argued by Jawhar Sircar, the current government measures the ‘productivity’ of parliament “in terms of hours or minutes wasted in non-legislative business”.
During the current Budget Session, Sircar observes, “Usually, the Treasury benches open backroom channels to restore order in parliament, but in March, there was no question or intention for any such normalcy. The opposition put up with it all, including the threatening glass-shattering slogans of “Mo-dee! Mo-dee!” by shouting counter slogans demanding “JPC! JPC! We demand a JPC!” – calling for a Joint Parliamentary Committee into the Modi-Adani scam.”
“For two long weeks, from Monday, 13 March, the same scene persisted – during which members attended parliament only to be shouted down as per plan and the houses getting adjourned once after 11 am and then at 2 pm – with methodical regularity. The…