News

Let parliament work for sake of crucial bills: Activists

Posted on February 15, 2014 from Delhi ι Report #318

New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) Civil society activists Saturday appealed to parliamentarians to allow the houses to function allow the passage of important pending bills.

"We appeal to our representatives in parliament to ensure that there is no further disruption of proceedings and that important pending bills are immediately and conclusively debated," said a joint statement by civil society organisations.

"We are extremely concerned about the danger of lapsing of a large number of very critical bills."

The representatives made a special appeal to MPs from Andhra Pradesh who have constantly disrupted parliament over the Telangana issue.

They asked the MPs to raise the issue in a manner that "does not deprive millions of Indians justice and relief that parliament alone can deliver to them".

"While we appreciate that disrupting parliamentary proceedings is a legitimate form of dissent, yet the prevailing level of disruption inevitably promotes, among the people, disenchantment and frustration with democratic processes and institutions," the statement said.

"The consequent erosion of respect for democratic institutions concerns us immensely as it does not bode well for the future of India," it added.