Parliamentary Obstructionism: A Legitimate Tactic To Expose The Government Through Parliamentary Instruments Or A Weapon To Vandalize Democratic System

Anshuman Mishra, B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M., LL.D. (University of Lucknow), Assistant Professor in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Allahabad

ABSTRACT

In a representative democracy, Houses of the Parliament are meant for peaceful discussions and debates as per rules. Constitution of India confers various rights, privileges and immunities to the members of the Parliament for the purpose of safeguarding the interest of the people to know the truth so that their voices through their representatives are not suppressed by the fear of some action. However, these constitutional safeguards must not be misused to serve certain petty political interests. Obstruction of the proceedings of a House to a certain extent as a means of protest against the policies of the government is different from completely stopping the work of the Parliament by means of acts of vandalism. The present paper is an humble attempt to analyse the provisions of the Constitution including provisions relating to Parliamentary privileges and immunities and the relevant rules of the houses of legislature in order to know the extent of such privileges and steps required to be taken in the wake of obstructionist techniques, used by certain groups of politicians to serve their political interest, hampering the national interest in holding the business of the Parliament or the State Legislatures.

Keywords: Parliament, Parliamentary privileges and immunities, Obstruction of the proceedings, vandalism.