The UK Parliament took the lead in changing its 800-year-old practices and met virtually a few weeks ago. India, too, is considering following suit
India, for the first time in its more than seven-decade-long parliamentary history, will have its Monsoon Session with some Members of Parliament (MPs) attending physically and others virtually. This hybrid experiment is necessitated by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The lawmakers will be failing in their assigned role by the Indian Constitution namely law-making, holding the executive accountable and budget scrutiny if they do not meet. The Constitution stipulates that Parliament should meet at least once in six months and that six-month-period ends on September 22. With the curtailed Budget Session adjourned sine die on March 23, it is difficult for the legislature to question the executive on so many burning issues like the pandemic and its handling, the crumbling economy, the Chinese face-off in Ladakh and so on.
However, virtual Parliament sessions are not new now as many countries have resorted to this method since the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic. Parliaments around the world are adapting to the unprecedented outbreak with new experiments. Egypt, Germany, Israel, Sweden and the European Union (EU) have all gone virtual. Countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and the Philippines have adopted a hybrid model of both physical and virtual attendance.
Many may ask why should the Parliament meet in the middle of a contagion? Did not the Opposition demand an adjournment in March citing the Covid-19? How has the situation changed now? Well, the fact remains that apart from the Constitutional requirement, it is necessary for the executive to place before the legislature the measures taken to handle the crisis. Second, certain emergency measures might require legislation. There are various ordinances, which need to be introduced in Parliament. Third, a Parliament session will become a two-way street for the Government and the members to exchange ideas and communication.
With the Congress-led Opposition demanding a session and the Constitutional provisions stipulating such a meeting, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu and the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla have had three meetings. But a final decision is awaited because it is for the Government to decide. The presiding officers of both the Houses are aware of the challenges in holding this hybrid session. The first is the venue. Several options are before them, including holding the meeting of the Lok Sabha in the Central Hall, with the Rajya Sabha, which has less members than the Lower House, shifting to the chamber of the Lok Sabha to enable the requisite social distancing. The Rajya Sabha will seat 127 members and the rest will be in the galleries. Screens would have to be arranged both within the House and outside to enable virtual participation. There will be space constraints until the new Parliament complex comes up in 2022.
The second challenge is the feasibility of such a session. The Indian Parliament, like many other countries including the UK, is slow in adapting 21st century modern technologies. But now the Coronavirus has given everyone the impetus to experiment with the new digital methods of communication. The UK Parliament took the lead in changing its 800-year-old practices and met virtually a few weeks ago. India, too, is considering following the UK model with a healthy mix of a virtual and physical presence of MPs.
For the hybrid session to take place successfully, the Parliament should be ready with an uninterrupted power supply, a secure broadband connection for the members, immediate translation devices and so on. To connect the members virtually even at the district level, it is going to cost Rs 25 crore and a three-month time frame to prepare. Then what about members who are not tech-savvy? The total number of people for the session would be about 3,500, including the staff, security, media, the MPs and their staff. It would be a risk to expose them to the pandemic. The third issue is that the House has to be ready to enable the members to vote, administer oaths to new members and put in place effective measures for physical distancing, sanitation as well as transportation of members.
As a prelude to that, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has permitted physical meetings of parliamentary panels. This will be a first of its kind, with the members being given soft copies of the papers and asked to follow social distancing and other guidelines. Ministries have been advised to keep at five the maximum number of members appearing before a committee.
As preparations are in full swing, the million dollar question is how effective would the hybrid session of Parliament be? What impact would physical distancing and confinement have on the Parliament’s functioning? How will the Opposition function? They would not be able to protest, make noisy scenes, wave placards or walk out like they usually do. Will they somehow change their style of functioning? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure. The presiding officers are aware of the risks they would be taking in getting 750 MPs together. Overcoming the challenges is important and the system has to be perfected. Despite the pandemic, the people’s representatives should have an opportunity to voice the concerns of the common man. We have to move with the times and adapt ourselves to the new situations. No time is better than the present one.
(The writer is a senior journalist)
