Parliament under stress; opposition will fight for constitutional supremacy: TMC MP Derek O' Brien

Hyderabad: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Derek O' Brien said Parliament is currently under stress and in bad shape. He was addressing a seminar on 'Citizen Engagement in Policy Making' at the India School of Business in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Derek pointed out that lack of scrutiny is the major drawback of the Parliament these days.

"Only one out of 10 bills go for scrutiny in the Parliament," he said. Citing the example of the farm laws, he said that the opposition wanted it to go through the scrutiny of a Parliamentary Committee.

"Several times, we said division, but the bill was passed," he said. "In Parliament, usually it's a voice vote and those in support say, Aye, those opposing say No. During this process, if anyone says 'Division', that means the members will have to cast their votes and it will be later counted," he explained.

He also reminded how the government had to repeal the farm laws after a year. With some more examples, he explained how there was no discussion in Parliament these days. Further, in the Q&A session, he discussed how to improve the current situation. Derek said that the only request of the opposition is to do everything by the Constitution of India. He said the opposition will keep fighting for it.