DailyPost 2442
PARLIAMENTARIANS?
If you have not heard of this word and have not used it either, if is not surprising. It has been not been a political currency for quite a few decades now. But for sure you have heard and talked about the parliament and it would have taken a large part of your thinking space, whenever you would have talked, discussed or pondered about the fate of this nation. From the Capitol Hill to Westminster to our Sansad Bhawan, the bestow democracy on us, the people, in a physical or a tangible form or that is what they are supposed to do.
The passage of India from the Sansad Bhawan to Central Vista is no mean thing. It makes our democracy more pompous and has factored in the post delimitation scenario, the increased number of MPs with all the facilities in place. The building elevates our democracy to different level! Sovereignty concretised. And the world is forced to take note of. What about the human capital of the parliament? They would bring it to life way beyond what Sansad Bhawan did. The ones who adorn the temple of democracy are our MPs, in strict parliamentary parlance, they are the parliamentarians.
Parliamentarians are the proactive performers and prima donnas of democracy. They are the physical manifestation of the essence and robustness of democracy. They tacitly define the nation. What parliamentarian is to parliament is what a doctor is to a hospital, a judge to a court or a priest to a temple. It is professionalism, trust, faith, and delivery personified. Even parliamentarians talk of themselves as MPs, elected representatives or law makers. They would need to be told of this all-encompassing elevated role of theirs. The law maker role in itself has been put to smithereens as seen in large number of debates and the modalities of passing of bills, many of which instead of streamlining the area of concern has put it into a more precarious balance.
Who is a parliamentarian? A member of parliament, especially well versed in its procedure and experienced in debates. The quality of the parliament is directly proportional to the quality of parliamentarians. How much of that has improved in the last 75 years? A time to take stock of this lot. Parliamentary exposition / debates are legends and folklore of democracy and every democratic has tons of it, that is its real democratic history. The Brexit debates, or the debates post 9/11 finally leading to the PATRIOT Act. Senators in the debates and congressional hearings can still make their presence felt as no other professional can. Their broad knowledge canvas, precision provided to topic in question, and their political and democratic trajectory can only leave us spellbound. We need to remember those who have contributed to our democracy and nation in this manner and they should become the role models of the present and future occupants of the Central Vista.
IN THE PARLIAMENTARIANS LIES THE CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION.
Sanjay Sahay