What does it say about the world’s largest democracy when its Parliament cannot function more than half the time? This is not an abstract concern. Last year’s winter session lost over 65 hours to adjournments. The Monsoon session this year ended with just 29 per cent of scheduled hours used in the Lok Sabha and 34 per cent in the Rajya Sabha. If Parliament cannot work, laws don’t get made, questions go unanswered, and the executive escapes scrutiny. With a packed legislative agenda and major economic reforms in the pipeline, India cannot afford another washout.

Disruption has become institutionalised. Entire sessions are consumed by protest, and repeated suspensions of MPs have done little to restore order. Question Hour, the vital link between the people’s representatives and the government, has been frequently short-circuited. Committee scrutiny has collapsed: only 16 per cent of bills in the 17th Lok Sabha were referred to committees, down from over 70 per cent a decade ago. In the name of political theatre, Parliament has been reduced to performance.

To rescue Parliament from paralysis, ten structural reforms are overdue. These include mandating a minimum of 100-120 sitting days annually; reserving Opposition Business Days to institutionalise dissent; enforcing time-bound debates through formal time-allocation motions; making committee scrutiny mandatory for all non-emergency bills;........

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