In your opinion, to what degree does the Parliament effectively ensure executive accountability within the Indian context? (10 marks, 150 words) [GS-2: Indian Polity]

The Constitution of India establishes a parliamentary form of government, wherein the Executive is accountable to the Parliament for its policies and actions.

Effective Mechanisms for Parliamentary Control over the Executive:

• Robust avenues for deliberation, including the Question Hour, Zero Hour, Half-an-Hour Discussion, Short Duration Discussion, Calling Attention Motion, Adjournment Motion, No-Confidence Motion, Censure Motion, and other pertinent discussions.
• Engaging in General Discussions and conducting voting on policies/laws, along with utilizing censure motions and no-confidence motions as powerful instruments.
• Exercising thorough budgetary control by appropriating grants and ensuring post-budgetary scrutiny through esteemed financial committees such as the Public Accounts Committee.
• Utilizing strategic approaches like walkouts, abstaining from voting, and employing live-streaming as effective means to exert substantial pressure on the Executive.

Challenges Hindering Parliamentary Accountability of the Executive:

1. Persistent tendencies to evade critical debates, discussions, and checks through various means:

• Utilizing the money bill route as seen in the example of the Aadhar bill.
• Resorting to the voice vote mechanism, as witnessed with the Farm bills.
• Overreliance on frequent ordinances.

2. Inadequate emphasis on parliamentary institutions:

• Insufficient number of bills referred to parliamentary committees for comprehensive examination.
• Suboptimal productivity during the Question Hour, which hampers effective scrutiny.

3. Adverse impact of the pandemic:

• The unfortunate absence of an entire session, namely the winter session, due to the prevailing circumstances.

4. Lack of discipline and decorum:

• Frequent disruptions causing significant time loss (according to PRS, the Lok Sabha lost 1/6th of its time, while the Rajya Sabha lost 1/3rd of its time to disruptions).

Proposed Strategies for Enhancing Accountability:

• Implementing a comprehensive 15-point reform charter proposed by the esteemed Vice President, aimed at elevating the overall functioning of Parliament.
• Mandating meticulous scrutiny of all bills by Parliamentary Committees to ensure thorough examination and inclusive decision-making.
• Allocating adequate time for opposition members to engage in meaningful debates on issues of public importance, fostering a vibrant democratic discourse.