The Parliament of Bhutan
ANALYSES
Bhutan: Makeover of Opposition in Parliament
By Mihir Bhonsale
A strong opposition is said to be in the interests of a democracy. The nascent democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan stands witness to the rise of the discerning parliamentary opposition.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led government has already crossed the half-way mark in its five-year term and the opposition, Druk Phuesum Tshogpa (DPT), has taken the fight back to the ruling party.
If the business transacted in parliament is any indication from the fifth session onwards, disagreement between the ruling and the opposition benches of has been stark.
At a time when civil society in Bhutan is debating whether the politicisation of Parliament is in the interest of the country, the opposition’s challenge will be to sustain the tirade they have begun. It will depend on the focus in detail constructive eye.
Bills voted down
The culture of disagreement between parliamentarians has as a consequence led to many bills being voted down and referred to the next session of the Parliament. Such bills include the motion for ratification of the BBIN-MVA and the Thromde boundary demarcation issue.
The Paro Dzokhang Thromde boundary demarcation that was approved by the parliament in the fifth session of Parliament was forced to be again brought forward after consultation with the local government and reintroduced in the upcoming session of Parliament.
The boundary demarcation issue was voted down in the joint session of the Parliament, the National Council (NC) and National Assembly (NA) members. A lawmaker also went on to accuse NC members of siding with political parties resulting in much furore.
The motion moved by the government for ratification of BBIN-MVA, saw a heated discussion in the sixth session of Parliament, before it was voted for by the show of hands. Initially, the Speaker of the National Assembly announced that the motion stood passed, 22-15.
But, the opposition argued that a majority must be calculated on the basis of the total strength of the house that is 47 and not the number of members present in the house on that particular day. They demanded that the Assembly reach a formula for deciding the majority number in the house.
The National Assembly then resolved to form a committee on deciding this issue. The committee came to a consensus that the passage of a motion must depend on the majority decided on the basis of the total strength of the house — ie, 24. Hence, the NA announced that the ratification of the BBIN-MVA be revoked.
Policy stalemate
The motions tabled in Parliament by the ruling benches of the National Assembly are any indication, the Tshering Tobgay government at the centre, stares at a possible policy paralysis. This is coupled by the National Council’s decision to withdraw the Enterprise Registration Bill and the European Investment Bank Framework Agreement raised eyebrows in the National Assembly.
Re-deliberations in the National Assembly on the Jabmi (Amendment) Bill, Companies Bill were inconclusive due to lack of consensus on some of the sections. The sixth session decided that they be submitted to His Majesty, the Druk Gyalpo for the royal consent for deliberation in a joint sitting in the next session of the Parliament.
The opposition won the right to move a motion in Parliament beginning the fifth session where discussion on the motions on education, economy and unemployment took place. The opposition left no stone unturned to punch holes in the government’s policy towards the three burning issues of the day.
‘Committee government’?
The opposition has called the government a “committee government” in the sixth session. This, they have now rephrased to call the government “indecisive, inconsistent and incoherent”. Criticising, several decisions of the government, opposition party members accused the government of damaging public trust and confidence in the government.
They also accused the government of reversing its decisions in a jiffy, no sooner than it was implemented has become a trend and a costly one. They appealed that before implementing a policy or taking a decision, the government consider if it would fulfil the aspirations of the king, country and people, Tsa-Wa-Sum.
The PDP government at the centre is busy wielding the pressures put by the opposition party within parliament and outside. Having been past three years of their term in power, government has to deliver on its promises. Bhutan is still reeling under the impact of unemployment and economic growth concentrated only in hydropower export.
Parliament in Bhutan, with a sizable opposition could play a constructive role in helping the Tsehering Tobgay government to overcome the challenges that the small Himalayan nation is facing. It could act as a platform for consensus building in the larger interest of the nation.
The author is a Research Assistant at Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata.
India: Record productivity in Budget session, but GST still struck
By Satish Misra
Despite disruptions, bickerings and high decibel noises, the two-part budget session of Parliament, which began on February 23, proved to be a very productive one and enabled the government to complete most of its agenda.
In fact, the people’s house — the Lok Sabha — ended on May 11, two days earlier than originally scheduled and the Rajya Sabha had also completed the official business, but it remained in session till May 13 owing to a death of a Congress sitting member, Praveen Rashtrapal, and the retiring of 53 MPs who needed time to make their customary valedictory speeches.
It is indeed a record of sorts that despite the growing confrontation between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on several issues, including AugustaWestland chopper deal, the Union budget along with several important bills, were passed by the two houses.
The session also witnessed debates and discussions on important issues like the drought and allegation of corruption in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. Debate on the alleged scam in the purchase of the AugustaWestland helicopters in the two houses was interesting and noteworthy in many respects.
AgustaWestland chopper scam
While in the upper house, new entrant Subramanian Swamy made his debut speech and trained his guns on the Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Congress member Manu Abhishek Sanghvi delivered a spirited and informed response. The Congress sought to take the high moral ground by demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Both the houses also held discussions on the working of the ministries of finance, human resource development, civil aviation and tourism. It became possible not because the government reached out to the opposition, but, because of a change in the strategy of the Congress party which adopted an aggressive and belligerent approach without blocking legislative business.
The Congress, apparently, has decided to climb down from its earlier stand so that it can erase the popular impression of blocking the government agenda.
In terms of productivity, the Lok Sabha utilised 119 percent of its time while the Rajya Sabha used 84 percent of its time in debating and clearing the agenda which in itself is a record.
The Lok Sabha worked for 79.10 hours while it had only been allotted 66 hours for the session. The Rajya Sabha, on the contrary, lost 16 per cent of its time working for 54.58 hours instead of 65 hours it was allotted.
The question hour was conducted hundred percent in the Lok Sabha while it was 63 per cent in the Rajya Sabha. In total, 220 questions were listed in the Lok Sabha and 63 were answered. In the upper house, 165 questions were listed and 46 were replied by the government.
In earlier sessions, only a couple of questions on an average used to be answered during the session by a minister, but in the just concluded session, more questions were answered which is a firm evidence of the seriousness which both the ruling benches and the opposition are attaching to the parliamentary work and responsibility.
The BJP-led NDA government introduced four bills while 10 official bills were passed by the Lok Sabha. They included the Regional Centre for Biotechnology Bill, 2016, the Compensatory Afforestation Bill, 2015, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2016.
It is worth noting here that the Bankruptcy and Anti-Hijacking Bills had been pending before parliament for a long time.
GST Bill not listed
However, the long-awaited and much promised Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill could not be passed in this session also. In fact, the government did not even list it on the business of the upper house where it needs to be approved to become an Act as the lower house has already passed it.
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