Frequent disruptions: Parliament serves as a forum for debates and discussions. However, recent sessions have seen that disruption is replacing discussion as the foundation of our legislative functioning, which results in early adjournment of the house. This ultimately affects the productivity of the house. E.g. According to a PRS India report, 8 out of ten sessions of 17th Lok Sabha adjourned early due to disruptions.

• Lack of responsible opposition: For efficient functioning of democracy, the role of opposition is as important as the ruling party. Recent events of suspension of opposition members from the house are evident of the fact that opposition is facing a crisis in India. Issues like lack of effective leadership, fragmentation, baseless criticism, opting disruptions as solution etc are making opposition weak which results in lack of accountability exerted from government.
• Criminalisation of politics and politicisation of criminals: elections in India are criticised for involvement of corruption, money and muscle power, which results in people with criminal background getting elected. According to the Association for democratic reforms (ADR) report – 43% of MPs in 2019 Lok Sabha elections have criminal cases against them and 29% have criminal cases with serious crimes. This presents a significant danger to the credibility of parliament.
• Problem of defection and misuse of Anti-defection law: Even after formulation of strict laws, defection is a prevalent phenomenon in Indian politics. Instead of curtailing defections, anti-defection law and whip are being misused several times to restrict freedom of speech and expression of members. 
• Declining quality and quantity of debate: Parliament is a debating forum. ii is through debates that it performs all its functions. But nowadays, meaningful and constructive debates on bills are consistently declining. In the recent winter session 2022, only 7.7 hours in Lok Sabha and 10.8 hours in Rajya Sabha were dedicated for question hour.(PRS India)
• Bypassing Parliamentary Committees: Parliamentary committees are considered as mini legislatures due to their significant role in scrutinising bills and providing expertise to members to have holistic understanding of bills. However, recent data shows that the number of bills being referred to committees have drastically declined from 60% in 14th Lok Sabha to 23% in 17th Lok Sabha.
• Role of Presiding Officers: Presiding officers are torch bearers for democratic functioning of the house based on constitutional norms and conventions. Nevertheless, since the last few years, the role of presiding officers in case of voting methods, conduct of business in house, disqualification matters etc. is being questioned by opposition which affect the faith of public in parliamentary functioning.
• Increases in number of ordinances: In the D.C. Wadhwa case, the Supreme Court ruled that the executive’s power to issue ordinances should be exercised only in exceptional situations and not as a replacement for proper law-making. Recent past has witnessed many examples where ordinances making significant changes have been issued by the executive. E.g. Jammu and Kashmir reorganisation ordinance (2019). Such instances further deteriorate the image of Parliament as a law making body.

• Lack of training and capacity building of MPs: As legislators come from different socio-economic backgrounds. Many members are not adequately informed about the various tools that could be effectively utilized in Parliament. The lack of capacity-building initiatives poses obstacles to their ability to engage proactively. Moreover, absenteeism among members also creates challenges.
• Vacant post of Deputy Speaker: Even after three and half years, 17th Lok Sabha has still not conducted election of Deputy Speaker which puts a question mark on the functioning of legislature.

Consequences of Reduced Parliamentary Functioning: Challenges and Risks

Parliament serves as a platform for expressing aspirations of people along with their expectations from their representatives. If Parliament does not operate as intended, it will lead to-

• Reduced accountability of government which can lead to authoritarianism.
• Hasty passage of bills will increase the burden of litigation on the judiciary already facing huge pendency. (This concern was recently highlighted by the Chief Justice of India) 
• Trust deficit among people regarding parliamentary proceedings can lead to agitations.
• Frequent disruptions will hamper deliberations over serious issues which require debate and discussions.
• Criminalisation of politics can deter capable candidates to contest elections hence defeating the purpose of free and fair elections.

Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy: Key Reforms and Recommendations

• Recommendations of NCRWC: To improve functioning of Parliament, NCRWC (National commission to review the working of constitution)in its report has given following suggestions-
  • Codification of Parliamentary Privileges: Article-105 of Constitution deals with Parliamentary Privileges. In many instances it has been observed that members of parliament misuse their privileges for their personal gains hence, codification of privileges is necessary.
  • Parliamentary ombudsman: A parliamentary ombudsman can be appointed who can keep a check on activities by members.
  • There should be a minimum number of days established for the sessions of both houses.

• • Strengthening opposition: Opposition in India needs to ensure constructive criticism, collective stance on issues and more and more discussion in the house. To strengthen opposition vis-a-vis the government, the concept of shadow cabinet formed by opposition like in Britain can be an option.
  • Parliamentary committee reforms: In countries like Sweden and Finland either all or some specific bills are referred to committees. Similar procedures can be introduced in India to avail maximum benefits of committees.
  • Reforms in legislation making: To check hastily drafting of legislations a new legislation committee of Parliament can be set up to oversee legislative planning. Law commission should be utilised in a more efficient manner.
  • Citizen’s feedback: Before introducing any significant legislation citizen’s feedback can help in making legislative procedure more transparent and inclusive. E.g. When net neutrality rules were framed, TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) incorporated suggestions from different stakeholders. Such practices need to be encouraged.

• Implementation of laws:

1. As recommended by Election Commission and Supreme Court, whip should be applied in only certain stances like no confidence motion, constitutional amendment bills, to ensure that there is no misuse of anti-defection law to curtail freedom of speech and expression of any member.
2. There should be strict implementation of RPA (Representatives of People act 1951) provisions to ensure that elections should be held in a transparent manner with full information about criminal background, assets of candidates of different political parties.

• A code of conduct for members, along with capacity-building initiatives, is essential at this time. A recent effort by the Lok Sabha secretariat to issue a book on “Unparliamentary words” is a welcome move.

Parliament is viewed as a bridge between the public and the government.  Today the parliament has assumed a role of a multifunctional institution performing a variety of roles. As the parliament will move this year from its 90 plus year-old building to a new one, it should reimagine its roles and try to make the institution more democratic and deliberative.