The war of words between the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Ramesh Tawadkar, and the Opposition MLAs has set a fiery tone for the upcoming 4-day session beginning on January 16. Fatorda constituency MLA Vijai Sardesai pinched a raw nerve when he said that the Speaker was acting like an "employee" of the Chief Minister, sparking fierce reactions from Tawadkar, Pramod Sawant and senior colleagues in the cabinet.
It is common knowledge that Speakers tend to toe the government line; in this case, Tawadkar has not only endorsed the decision of a curtailed session but also okayed a restriction on MLAs seeking information beyond five years. Tawadkar issued directions under Rule 307 of the rules of procedure and conduct of the business of the Goa Legislative Assembly, which states that "members shall not ordinarily ask for information on the matter of past history".
The demand from government departments to restrict information beyond five years is unprecedented, irrational and smacks of a deliberate attempt to shield some MLAs from scrutiny. In a democratic process, every public representative must be answerable and cannot bypass scrutiny. A Speaker has a significant role to play here as a custodian of democracy by being a fair adjudicator.
Cutting down the Assembly session to four days and imposing restrictions on questions amounts to reducing the legislative exercise to a mere formality. The Speaker has expressed his helplessness on the tenure of the House and shown displeasure to Sardesai's 'employee of CM' remark calling it malicious. He asked Sardesai to tender a public apology and refused to meet the Opposition team on Tuesday. The CM stated that "the real threat to democracy is the behaviour of Opposition MLAs."
Opposition MLAs have reasons to be ruffled, and when there are marked departures from usually followed procedures, the Speaker, the Head of the House, must exercise authority and seek the reason. Decisions cannot be imposed because of the overwhelming strength of the government, and the Speaker would be failing in his prime responsibility if he merely disposes of what the government proposes without applying his legislative mind. The Opposition has to be duly respected too.
Curtailed assembly sessions have been a trend ever since the regime of Manohar Parrikar when he was ailing and under treatment. But that can't be the norm. Surprisingly, a government that boasts of a brute majority with 33 MLAs and some fierce critics of the past now joining ranks, is still not finding its comfort level in the House.
The restriction on seeking information is a tricky move to defang the Opposition and insulate some who have now switched sides from the erstwhile regime. There is no other logic here because governments don't hold accountability for the sins of past regimes.
The Speaker has to act as a non-partisan referee of the legislature and uphold democracy. The restriction on seeking information must be withdrawn, and a level-playing field must be provided, irrespective of the size of the Opposition.
