Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Parliament or Assemblies are places of debate and discussions, but it is not good if the House is not allowed to function in the name of opposition for narrow political gain.
Shah made the remark while addressing the All India Speakers Conference, three days after the Monsoon Session of Parliament came to an end with little business due to repeated disruptions and adjournments following opposition protests.
The home minister also said that when there is limited debate or discussions in Parliament, the contribution of the House in nation-building gets affected.
“Debate must take place in a democracy. But it is not good if the House is not allowed to function in the name of opposition for someone’s narrow political gain. Opposition should always be restrained.
“But in the name of opposition, if the House is not allowed to function day after day or session after session, it is not good. The country has to ponder over it, the people have to ponder over it, and elected representatives have to ponder over it,” he said.
Shah said all discussions must have some sense and everyone must work towards increasing the dignity and respect of the post of the Speaker.
“We should work to offer an impartial platform to raise the issues of the people. The arguments of both the treasury and opposition should be impartial. We must ensure that the functioning of the House is carried out as per the rules and regulations of the respective House,” he said.
Citing the humiliation of the Mahabharata character, Droupadi, in Hastinapur, he said, whenever the dignity of the House is compromised, the country has seen dire consequences.
The home minister lauded the democratic tradition of India since Independence and said democracy here has roots so deep that it has not seen shedding of even a single drop of blood during regime changes, unlike many countries where the democratic situation deteriorated over the years.
Shah also paid his tributes to Vitthalbhai Patel, the first elected Indian Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly.
He said on this very day 100 years ago, the great freedom fighter was appointed the President of the Central Legislative Assembly, marking the beginning of India’s legislative history.
Shah said the contribution of Vitthalbhai, who was the brother of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, got overshadowed over the years.
“If the freedom struggle of the country was important, then running the country and establishing legislative procedures are equally important. Vitthalbhai Patel played an important role in establishing and strengthening democracy even during difficult days. We should all remember that,” he said.