Make law to ensure at least 100 days of House sittings: CPM

Bhopal: Expressing concern over the dwindling number of working days in Parliament, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury has called for enacting a law to ensure there is at least 100 days of active presence of members in the House.

This will make sure that the government of the day is held accountable for its actions and policies, and members get enough time to deliberate on key issues, the Rajya Sabha member said last night.

“There is a need to frame a law which mandates for at least 100 days of active presence of members when Parliament is in session. Then only Parliament would function smoothly.

“This is absolutely necessary to arrest the growing trend of disinterest and negligence towards legislative work,” Yechury said.

He was delivering the Comrade Shailendra Shelly Memorial Lecture here.

“In the last 2-3 years, Parliament sittings were not held for more than 60 to 70 days (in a year). In such a scenario, how the government will be held accountable?” the 64-year-old Left leader asked.

“In contrast, the British Parliament sits for 200 days in a year,” he noted.

The CPI(M) criticised the NDA government over its economic policies, saying they are responsible for the widening disparity between the poor and the rich.

The pace of this disparity has increased during the Modi government than what it was when the Congress-led UPA was in power, the veteran Parliamentarian said.

He said ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had promised to provide two crore jobs every year if voted to power.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who completed three years in office in May, has failed to deliver on this front, the CPI(M) maintained.

“Going by it (the pre-poll promise), by now the government should have provided six crore jobs, but figures (job data) are telling a different story.”

On the issue of farmers, Yechury said their condition is miserable and they are forced to commit suicide.

“Capitalists are not returning Rs 11 lakh crore loan taken by them (from banks) but nobody is talking about it. In fact, they are being waived, while farmers are being troubled to pay back small loans,” Yechury said.

Referring to rising cases of cow vigilantism, he said those resorting to violence in the name of cow protection have utter disregard for law and the states should take strong action against them.