5 Questions: RSP MP N K Premachandran

What’s your assessment of the Budget Session?

It has been a fruitful session and there have been some good debates, especially the one on the Ukraine crisis… But, unfortunately, we could not discuss the most important issue — price rise — because government did not want a debate on it.

There is a tendency to measure the success of the session by the hours the House functioned. What is your view on this?

It is one of the factors to measure productivity. At the same time, the issues discussed, quality of the debates, and attendance of members are also factors… When a House sits for long hours and allows a lot of members to participate in discussions, it is good and the Speaker has to be lauded for it. But the government is not willing to discuss contentious issues.

What is your view on Parliament going increasingly paperless?

It is very difficult… When serious issues such as policy matters and reports of standing committees are discussed, it is very difficult to go through them without having the papers before you.

Are you saying we are not yet prepared to go paperless?

Yes. We are not totally equipped. For example, we don’t have good web connectivity inside the chamber. When we participate, we don’t get access to the material. I think for Parliament to function effectively, hard copies are a must. The ministers still depend on files and papers to answer questions…

At the global level, there is a lot of effort being made to reduce carbon footprint and go green. In India, shouldn’t the Parliament set an example?

I appreciate the fact that the parliamentarians across the world are trying to work without paper. But for MPs, there are hard copies still available when it comes to important Bills and policies. When ministers use paper for their answers and even in debates, you can’t insist the MPs shouldn’t.