Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Question and answer: on Parliament, parliamentary norms

Question and answer: on Parliament, parliamentary norms

Parliament must function as the forum to debate contentious (विवादास्पद, कलहपूर्ण) issues

In an unusual departure (विचलन) from established (स्थापित, निर्धारित) parliamentary convention (परंपरा, प्रथा, रिवाज), the Lok Sabha adopted the motion of thanks (धन्यवाद प्रस्ताव) to the President’s address to Parliament without the Prime Minister’s reply to the debate on February 5. The explanation by the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, for the Prime Minister not replying to the discussion on the motion (प्रस्ताव) raised more questions than it answered. Mr. Birla said that he had concrete (ठोस, पक्का) information about Opposition Members of Parliament (MP) planning something “unexpected”, obliquely (परोक्ष रूप से, अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से) suggesting (संकेत देना, सुझाना) that they may have caused harm to the Prime Minister inside the House. It is bizarre (विचित्र, अजीबोगरीब, असामान्य) to assume that the Leader of the House — the Prime Minister — avoids speaking in the House fearing harm from fellow (equal, peer, counterpart) MPs. Developments (घटनाक्रम, विकास) in the House, earlier and outside, provide a more plausible (तर्कसंगत, विश्वसनीय, स्वीकार्य) reason for the Prime Minister not showing up (उपस्थित होना) in the Lok Sabha. The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, during his speech on the discussion on the motion of thanks, sought to cite excerpts from a book by former Chief of the Army Staff, General M.M. Naravane, which was disallowed (reject, refuse, dismiss, say no to, forbid, prohibit, ban, bar, stop, block) by the Chair. On the one hand (it is used to introduce the first of two contrasting different, points, facts, or ways of looking at something. It is always followed later by “on the other hand” or ‘on the other’), the LoP was not allowed to speak and, on the other, the Prime Minister chose not to speak. Both are against parliamentary norms and, more than that, a disturbing (annoying, disconcerting, distressing, troubling, perplexing, unsettling) erosion (decline, decrease, deterioration, disintegration, weakening) of democratic accountability.

The debate and reply function as a mechanism (system, arrangement, scheme, policy, regime; apparatus, medium, agency, instrument, channel) through which the executive (the executive is a branch of government which enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary) is held accountable to Parliament. Mr. Birla stated that he had requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House because there were credible (acceptable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable; believable, plausible, reasonable) inputs (info, information, details, particulars, facts) about a possible disruption (disturbance, interference, interruption) or an “unforeseen (unpredicted, unexpected, unanticipated)” situation near the Prime Minister’s seat. As Congress MP K.C. Venugopal has pointed out in a letter to the Prime Minister, parliamentary rules require that a debate on the motion of thanks must conclude with the Prime Minister’s reply, and if the House wishes to close the discussion without the Prime Minister’s reply, a specific resolution (a form in which a legislative body expresses an opinion or a purpose with respect to a given matter or topic (that is temporary in nature). A resolution can be moved by a member or Minister on a matter of general public interest) must be moved (propose, put forward (a motion)) and adopted (accept, ratify, validate, approve, support, endorse). Whether or not the book in question (at issue, under consideration) was published, as long as (provided that) Mr. Gandhi was willing to authenticate (validate, verify, prove) its contents and place it before the Chair, he should have been allowed to speak. The book in question raises serious issues related to national security, and to deny elected members the opportunity to discuss these is indefensible (unjustifiable, untenable, unforgivable, unendurable, unbearable; groundless, baseless, absurd, illogical, irrational). The portions that Mr. Gandhi cited (mention, refer to, point to, adduce, invoke, turn to, resort to) outside the House, if accurate, point to the tendency (trend, habit, disposition) of the political executive to evade (avoid, circumvent, find a way round, sidestep, bypass, dodge (something problematic)) critical decision-making by passing the buck and then avoiding accountability. A thorough (detailed, minute, rigorous, in-depth, exhaustive, complete, intensive) parliamentary discussion concluding with the Prime Minister’s reply would have been the opportunity to prove that charge (accusation, allegation) wrong. By skipping (ignore, disregard, omit, leave out) the reply, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proved his critics (criticizer, censurer, castigator, attacker, fault-finder) right.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.norm (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानदंड, नियम
English Meaning - standard, criterion, convention.

2.contentious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विवादास्पद, कलहपूर्ण
English Meaning - controversial, disputable, debatable.

3.departure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विचलन
English Meaning - deviation, divergence, change of direction.

4.established (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - स्थापित, निर्धारित
English Meaning - traditional, customary, conventional, routine, respected, acknowledged, well known.

5.convention (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परंपरा, प्रथा, रिवाज
English Meaning - norm, standard, criterion, protocol, ceremonial, formality.

6.Motion of Thanks (noun)

Hindi Meaning - धन्यवाद प्रस्ताव
English Meaning - A Motion of Thanks is moved in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha after the President’s address by an MP of the ruling party, following which it is debated in both the Houses. After the Opposition gives its opinion on the President’s speech, the Prime Minister gives his replies to the concerns raised by the former.

7.motion (noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रस्ताव
English Meaning - a formal proposal submitted to the House for eliciting (obtaining) its decision.

8.concrete (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - ठोस, पक्का
English Meaning - real, actual, solid, substantial, definite, tangible.

9.obliquely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - परोक्ष रूप से, अप्रत्यक्ष रूप से
English Meaning - indirectly, not in a direct way.

10.suggest (verb)

Hindi Meaning - संकेत देना, सुझाना
English Meaning - indicate, point to, show, demonstrate.

11.bizarre (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - विचित्र, अजीबोगरीब, असामान्य
English Meaning - strange, peculiar, funny, unusual, mysterious, baffling, weird, outlandish, comical.

12.development (noun)

Hindi Meaning - घटनाक्रम, विकास
English Meaning - turn of events, incident, situation, occurrence, happening.

13.plausible (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - तर्कसंगत, विश्वसनीय, स्वीकार्य
English Meaning - acceptable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable; believable, credible, reasonable; likely, possible, probable, conceivable.

14.show up (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - उपस्थित होना
English Meaning --turn up, come out, arrive, appear.

15.excerpt (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अंश, भाग
English Meaning - extract, piece, bit, selection (of content).

16.disallow (verb)

English Meaning - reject, refuse, dismiss, say no to, forbid, prohibit, ban, bar, stop, block.

17.the Chair/Chairperson (noun)

English Meaning - it refers to the presiding officer - such as the Speaker, Deputy Speaker in a legislative body (Parliament, Legislative Assembly).

18.on the one hand (phrase)

English Meaning - it is used to introduce the first of two contrasting different, points, facts, or ways of looking at something. It is always followed later by “on the other hand” or ‘on the other’.

19.disturbing (adjective)

English Meaning - annoying, disconcerting, distressing, troubling, perplexing, unsettling.

20.erosion (noun)

English Meaning - decline, decrease, deterioration, disintegration, weakening.

21.cite (verb)

English Meaning - mention, refer to, point to, adduce, invoke, turn to, resort to.

22.fellow (adjective)

English Meaning - equal, peer, counterpart.

23.address (noun)

English Meaning - a formal speech, talk, discourse.

24.sought past tense of seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

25.accountability (noun)

English Meaning - responsibility, liability, answerability.

26.mechanism (noun)

English Meaning - system, arrangement, scheme, policy, regime; apparatus, medium, agency, instrument, channel.

27.the executive (noun)

English Meaning - the executive is a branch of government which enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary.

28.hold accountable (phrase)

English Meaning - hold responsible, pin something on, connect/associate with.

29.credible (adjective)

English Meaning - acceptable, trustworthy, reliable, dependable; believable, plausible, reasonable.

30.input (noun)

English Meaning - info, information, details, particulars, facts.

31.disruption (noun)

English Meaning - disturbance, interference, interruption.

32.unforeseen (adjective)

English Meaning - unpredicted, unexpected, unanticipated.

33.point out (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - indicate, mention, refer to, draw attention to.

34.resolution (noun)

English Meaning - a form in which a legislative body expresses an opinion or a purpose with respect to a given matter or topic (that is temporary in nature). A resolution can be moved by a member or Minister on a matter of general public interest.

35.move (verb)

English Meaning - propose, put forward (a motion).

36.adopt (verb)

English Meaning - accept, ratify, validate, approve, support, endorse.

37.in question (phrase)

English Meaning - at issue, under consideration.

38.as long as (phrase)

English Meaning - provided that.

39.authenticate (verb)

English Meaning - validate, verify, prove.

40.indefensible (adjective)

English Meaning - unjustifiable, untenable, unforgivable, unendurable, unbearable; groundless, baseless, absurd, illogical, irrational.