TWENTY per cent. That is the percentage of lawmakers whose commitment to their vocation is reflected in the time they set aside for it. According to records compiled by the Free and Fair Election Network, only 66 out of 333 MNAs attended all nine sittings of the 27th session of the National Assembly. Thirty-three lawmakers did not show up for a single one. The prime minister was among the persistent absentees. What does one make of these numbers, if not that parliament has fallen into dysfunction? In the current government’s era, we have frequently been told that ‘parliament is supreme’; that........

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