Sikkim Legislative Assembly is the only exception in the country which defines duties and responsibilities to its MP and MLAs.

RTI was filed by an activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya with the Election Commission seeking details of duties, responsibilities and accountability of MPs and MLAs. In a shocking revelation came from Lok Sabha Secretariat there are “no provision either in the Constitution or the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha defining duties and responsibilities of members of Parliament or through which the accountability can be fixed on non-performing MPs”.

Same is the case with all the Legislative assemblies of the country except Sikkim. So what are the key responsibilities of an MLA or MP? If we go by constitution there are none.

But Sikkim Legislative Assembly has specified rules of procedure and conduct of provisions for its elected representatives. It says “specifying the duties (and) responsibilities of MLAs towards the august House being public representatives” and it would be their “prime duty to maintain communal harmony and peace among the people”.

In a largest democracy and with one of the best constitution of the world there are no provisions through which performance of an MP or MLA can be judged. This left our elected representatives unaccountable and unchecked.

It’s an irony that when certain measures like Lokpal Bill, RTI etc are been taken up to make them accountable they are getting restless and vociferously opposing it.

 

Comment