(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Strengthening Parliamentary Institutions

Topic: Strengthening Parliamentary Institutions

Guest:

V. K. Agnihotri, (Former Secretary General, Rajya Sabha)
Chakshu Roy, (Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative Research)
K.V. Prasad, (Senior Associate Editor, The Tribune)

Topic Description:

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday pushed for the Women’s Reservation Bill and reforms in the way Parliament works including a code of conduct for lawmakers and greater powers to the presiding officer to deal with disruptive legislators. The Vice President, who delivered the first Arun Jaitley memorial lecture at Delhi University, also pitched for a minimum sitting for both Houses in a year and a longer tenure to parliament’s standing committees. Pointing out that women at present constitute only about 13% of Parliament, he urged political parties to take forward “the legislation in the Parliament for reservation of women in legislatures”. The Vice President also suggested a list of broad framework of reforms for parliamentary institutions to “enhance the trust of the people in them.” He suggested both “pre and post Legislative Impact Assessment” for “quality and informed law making. He also said that the practise of reconstituting Parliamentary standing committees every year can be stopped and nomination of members in the committees may be “based on academic backgrounds and their re-nomination on the same committees for a longer period.”