Volume Xl, No. 2 June, 1994 the Journal of Parliamentary Information
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VOLUME XL, NO. 2 JUNE, 1994 THE JOURNAL OF PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION VOL. XL NO.2 JUNE 1994 CONTENTS PAGE EDITORIAl' NOTE 167 ADDRESSES Address by the President to Parliament 170 Address by Shri Shivraj V. Patil, Speaker, Lok Sabha, at the 59th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India 183 AR I~ ES Televising of Parliamentary Proceedings - R.C. Bhardwaj 188 Resources and Information Sharing of Legislation: the Indian Experience - G.C. Malhotra 198 PARLIAMENTARY EVENTS AND AcTIVITIES Conferences and Symposia 206 Parliamentary Delegations Visiting India 209 Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training 210 PRIVILEGE ISSUES 212 PROCEDURAL MAnERS 214 PARLIAMENTARY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 219 DOCUMENTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST 226 The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners EConditions of Service) Amendment Act, 1993 227 The Constitution (Seventy-fifth Amendment) Act, 1993 230 The Governors (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Act, 1993 230 The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Conditions of Service) Amendment Act, 1993 231 The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 231 SESSIONAL REVIEW Lok Sabha 250 Rajya Sabha 270 State Legislatures 280 (i) ReCENT LITERATURf OF PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST 286 APPeIDCES I. Statement showing the work transacted during the Ninth Session of Tenth Lok Sabha 294 II. Statement showing the work transacted during the Hundred and Seventieth Session of Rajya Sabha 299 III.Statement showing the activities of the Legislatures of the. States and Union territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 1994 305 IV.List of Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President during the period 1 January to 31 March 1994 312 V. List of Bills passed by the Legislatures of States and Union territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 1994. 313 VI. Ordinances issued by the Union and State Governments during the period 1 January to 31 March 1994 321 Vllo.Party position in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and Legislatures of States and Union territories 326 (ii) EDITORIAL NOTE Article 87(1) of the Constitution provides that at the commencement of the first SessIOn after each general election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first Session of each year, the President shall address members of both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons. On 21 February 1994, the President of India, Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma addressed members of the two Houses assembled together in the Central Hall at the commencement-of the first Session of Parliament in 1994 and outlined the policies of the Government of India on various issues and the legislative programme for the Session. We reproduce the text of the Address by the President in this issue of the Journal. The 59th Conference of Presiding OfficerS of Legislative Bodies in India was held in Bhubaneswar on 1-2 February 1994. The Conference held detailed discussions on various issues and problems faced by the Legislatures in the country. The Conference was opened by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Shivraj V. Patil on 1 February. In his thought-provoking Address, he spdke at length on several topical issues of utmost concern to our parliamentary democratic system. We include in this issue, the text of the Opening AddresS by Shri Shivraj V. Patil. In a parliamentary democratic polity, the sovereign will of the people finds expression in the institution of Parliament. This being so, It is Imperative that the people at large have sufficient means to keep themselves aware of the extent to which their representatives ventilate their grievances and take up their causes in the supreme representative institution. It is not an easy task to assess the performance of the elected representatives, given the constraints under which a democratic polity operates. Adequate dissemination of information pertaining to the functioning of Parliament assumes added significance In such a scenario. It is in this context that televising of parliamentary proceedings i las become a significant procedural initiative in democracies across the world. In India too. televising of proceedings became a reality after considerable debate and discussion. The exercise, which began with the live telecast of the A ~ by the President to members of Parliament on 20 ~ 1989, has ·proceeded smoothly. During the recently concluded Monsoon Session, we set up a Low Power Transmitter in Parliament House with a range of 10 to 15 kms for live telecast of ~ with effect from 25 August 1994. As the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Shivraj V. Patil, under whose benign guidance and Inspiration these initiatives have been undertaken, observes, telecasting brings to the public notice. Nail the aspects of the activities of the Government: favourable, not so favourable and unfavourable". 188 The Journal of Parliamentary Information In his article titled "Televising of Parliamentary Proceedings" , the Editor discusses various aspects of the subject matter. Experience of telecasting in India and elsewhere has brought to light both advantages and disadvantages of telecasting. It has also thrown up several attendant problems, technical and otherwise. Besides analysing these issues, the article examines the experience of various Legislatures in televising their proceedings, perceptions of people, parliamentarians and the media, editorial guidelines for televising and the need for innovative TV programmes. The Editor, who had occasion to study the technological and procedural aspects of televising of parliamentary proceedings in several countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, UK and USA, points out that in today's highly inter-dependent world, there is great scope for exchange of programme capsules and documentaries among Parliaments. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) could function as nodal agencies for exchange of such programmes. One of the cardinal functions of the Legislature is enacting legislation. Drafting a legislative measure is by no means an easy task and requires a certain level of technique and experience. Member countries of the Commonwealth are greatly Influenced by the common law style of UK, in spite of Its highly complex nature. Some other countries follow oriental law which is more simple in style but not without the problem of language which is often sought to be overcome by qualitative translation. The need for effective arrangements for resource sharing is thus more than obvious. In his article titled "Resources and Information Sharing of legislation: The Indian Experience", Shri G.C. Malhotra, Joint Secretary, Lok Sabha Secretariat, enumerates the advances which our Parliament Library has made in the field of automation and modernisation and discusses the prospects of sharing of legislative Information and resources among Parliamentary Libraries of the Asia-Pacific region. Shrl Malhotra, who was a delegate to the Conference of the Association of Parliamentary Librarians of Asia and the Pacific, held in Bangkok in May 1994, observes that the institution of Parliament everywhere has to act as a vehicle of social change striving towards the achievement of the ultimate goal of a Welfare State. That is all the more reason why there has to be a commonality of approach, particularly in countries of the same region, facing similar problems. Shri Malhotra concludes that there is an imperative need for sharing one another'S experiences in the process of law-making by the Legislatures and its Interpretation by the Courts. Editorial Note 169 We felicitate Shri N.S. Pharanda on his election as the Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council. We also extend our felicitations to Shri Shantilal Chaplot on his election as the Deputy Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. This issue of the Journal carries our other regular Features, viz. Parliamentary Events and Activities, Privilege Issues, Procedural Matters, Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments, Sessional Review, Documents of Constitutional and Parliamentary Interest and Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest. We have been constantly endeavouring to make this Journal more useful and Infonnative. Needless to say, we would welcome suggestions from our readers for its further improvement. We would also welcome practice and problem-oriented non-partisan articles in the field of parliamentary procedures and institutions. from members of Parliament and State Legislatures, scholars and others interested in the realm of parliamentary political science. R.C. Bhardwaj -Editor 1 ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO PARLIAMENT The Constitution of India provides for an Address by the President to either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together. The provision for Address by the Head of State to Parliament goes back to the year 1921 when the Central Legislature was set up for the first time under the Government of India Act, 1919. The President may address both Houses of Parliament assembled together or either House of Parliament separately as per provisions of Articles 86 (1) and 87 (1) of the Constitution. Under Article 86 (1), the President may address either House of Parliament or both Houses assembled together, and for that purpose require the attendance of members. Article 87 (1) provides that at the commencement of the first Session after each general election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first Session of each year, the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons. The Address by the President is a statement of policy of the Government which is responsible for its contents. The Address contains a review of the activities and achievements of the Government during the previous year and sets out the policies which it wishes to pursue with regard to important internal and international issues. It also indicates the main items of legislative business which are proposed to be brought" during the Sessions to be held in that year. On 21 February 1994, the President of India, Dr.