New Delhi: As Parliament shifted to a new building last week, Lok Sabha members took with them two matters that they had kept pending for years. In both cases, the MPs themselves are the affected parties and seek a commitment from them for good behavior and proper conduct.
The first is the formulation of a code of conduct for members of the Lok Sabha; Second, declaration of business interests of members. Both the conditions have been applicable to Rajya Sabha members for a long time.
Code of conduct
On September 15, three days before Parliament was to convene for a special session, the Lok Sabha, in response to a query from The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, said: “The matter (of the code of conduct) is under consideration.” Ethics Committee.”
The Ethics Committee has actually been considering this case for more than eight years.
On 16 December 2014, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, headed by Gandhinagar MP LK Advani, submitted its report to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on proposed amendments to the rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Lok Sabha. The report was presented in the House two days later.
sale of freedom
The committee’s recommendations were included in the report of the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha, which was tabled in the House on 5 August 2015. “The [Ethics Committee] will prepare a code of conduct for members and suggest amendments or additions to the code of conduct from time to time,” the report said.
It also says: “…Rajya Sabha already maintains a register of interests of its members. …The Committee recommends that the Ethics Committee may examine and recommend the nature of interests of members to be declared and the form of the register of interests of members to be maintained for Members of the Lok Sabha.”
Since then the matter is lying in the same place.
Advani continued to chair the Ethics Committee till 2018-19. Since 2019-20, it is being led by Vinod Sonkar, BJP MP from Kaushambi, UP.
business interests
When asked about the status of the matter relating to declaration of business interests of members in the same RTI application, the Lok Sabha Secretariat provided an extract, paragraph 52A, from a publication of Parliament titled ‘Instructions by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha’. This article applies to members of parliamentary committees, not all MPs.
The extract (“Personal, pecuniary or direct interest of the member”) says: “(1) Where a member of a committee has a personal, pecuniary or direct interest in any matter which is to be considered by the committee, such member shall It has to be mentioned that our interest is conveyed to the President through the Chairman of the Committee.
long running saga
Concerns over potential conflicts of interest for MPs were first expressed almost a century ago. It was noted in the Central Legislative Assembly on January 26, 1925 that “A member having a personal, pecuniary or direct interest in any matter before the House is required, when taking part in the proceedings of the case, to declare its nature.” Interest”.
The first Ethics Committee in the Lok Sabha was constituted on 16 May 2000 by the late GMC Balayogi of TDP. After Balayogi, Shiv Sena’s Manohar Joshi, CPM’s Somnath Chatterjee, Congress’s Meira Kumar and BJP’s Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla became speakers.
The Ethics Committee is reconstituted every year. According to the Lok Sabha website, the committee was chaired by T R Baalu of DMK in 2009–10, Advani in 2011–12 and Dr Chinta Mohan of Congress in 2013–14.
The Lok Sabha website states that the Ethics Committee will “(a) investigate every complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member of the Lok Sabha by the Speaker and make such recommendations as he thinks fit.” (b) frame a code of conduct for the members and suggest amendments or additions to the code of conduct from time to time.
After the report of the Ethics Committee is presented in the House, it is discussed. Once approved by the House, it goes to the Rules Committee, which drafts rules based on the recommendation.
Ahead of the Advani-led report, which formed part of the Rules Committee report tabled in 2015, the Ethics Committee, headed by Congress’s Manikrao H Gavitt, had recommended on December 13, 2012: “…the Committee recommends that the Rajya Sabha adopt In-principle approval was given for the model of Register of Members’ Interest. Accordingly the Secretariat was directed to prepare a draft report on the subject.
The first Ethics Committee in the Rajya Sabha was inaugurated by Chairman K R Narayanan on May 30, 1997, with the objective of “monitoring the moral and ethical conduct of Members and investigating matters referred to it in the context of moral and other misconduct of Members “.
The Fourth Report of the Committee was adopted by Rajya Sabha on April 20, 2005, and a 14-point Code of Conduct for members of the House has been in force ever since. It says:
“…If Members find that there is a conflict between their personal interests and the public trust which they hold, they should resolve such a conflict in a manner that their private interests are subordinated to the duty of their public office;
“Members should always see that their private financial interests and those of the members of their immediate family do not come in conflict with the public interest and if any such conflict ever arises, they should try to resolve such a conflict in a manner that the public interest is not jeopardized;
“Members should never expect or accept any fee, remuneration or benefit for a vote given or not given by them on the floor of the House, for introducing a Bill, for moving a resolution or desisting from moving a resolution, putting a question or abstaining. from asking a question or participating in the deliberations of the House or a Parliamentary Committee.”
Rule 293 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) states: “There shall be maintained a ‘Register of Member’s Interests’ in such form as may be determined by the [Ethics] Committee which shall be Available to members for inspection upon request.” This is accessible to ordinary citizens under the RTI Act.
