Absence of accountability

In the recently concluded Maharashtra budget session ministersrsquo absence from the Assembly and Council cost a total of three hours and 45 minutes of legislative time accounting for a significant share of the total 83 hours lost overall in the fourweek sessionThe breakdown is telling In the Assembly one hour and 15 minutes were lost of which 60 minutes were lost due to a ministerrsquos absence The Council saw a far greater disruption losing seven hours and 20 minutes of which two hours and 45 minutes were due to a minister not turning upThis was not a disruption caused by protests Nor was it the result of ideological clashes It was entirely avoidableAnd that is what makes it seriousLegislative time is not just about proceedings it is about public accountability Every question asked and every issue raised reflect the concerns of citizens When the House cannot function because a minister is absent it is not merely a delay in work it is a failure to respond to the publicAlongside this something else is quietly lost public moneyRunning a legislature comes at a cost salaries allowances staff security and infrastructure Every hour carries a financial burden When time is lost due to absence taxpayersrsquo money is effectively spent without accountabilityIn any corporate or administrative setup such lapses would invite scrutiny Responsibility would be fixed and consequences would follow In politics however the standards often appear more relaxedThe concern is not just about one incident it is about what this reflects For perhaps the first time in Maharashtrarsquos history both Houses functioned without a Leader of the Opposition raising serious questions about the strength of debate and institutional balanceAttendance trends add to the worry In the Assembly attendance ranged from a high of 8653 per cent to a low of 5469 per cent averaging 7884 per cent In the Council the variation was even sharper with attendance dropping from 8654 per cent to just 3654 per cent averaging 7375 per centSuch fluctuations weaken the very foundation of legislative functioning When attendance falls to nearly onethird as seen in the Council debate suffers and accountability diminishesSenior MLA Jayant Patil with over three decades of experience underlined this concern Speaking on the final day of the session he noted that he had never witnessed a session where key Bills such as those related to Mumbairsquos property tax and cooperative sector reforms were passed without detailed discussionThis he suggested may be a consequence of overwhelming numerical strength The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavisled Mahayuti alliance commands 237 MLAs in the 288member Assembly giving it a dominant majorityThe government is not the only one at fault The Opposition too has failed to demonstrate the sharpness and persistence needed to effectively hold the government accountable Several key issues the controversial Pune land deal the VSR plane crash the arrest of a ministerrsquos staff in a bribery case and the LPG and gas crisis were either weakly raised or not debated to the extent they deservedWhat makes this more striking is the contrast with the governmentrsquos own messaging The chief minister and deputy chief minister frequently speak of efficiency discipline and fast governanceIf that is the standard why is it not reflected in the functioning of ministers within the legislatureWhy is something as basic as a ministerrsquos presence becoming an issue Why are there no systems to ensure continuity when one minister is absentGovernance cannot rely on intent alone It requires systems planning and accountabilityBeing a minister is not just about authority it is about responsibility It means being present prepared and answerable especially in the legislature where the government faces scrutiny This cannot betreated as optionalSo the question is straightforward what needs to changeShould stricter rules ensure ministerial presence Should alternative ministers be designated to step in Should repeated absences be formally recorded and acted uponThese are not unreasonable demands They are basic expectations in any system that values accountabilityBecause ultimately this is not just about lost hoursIt is about what those lost hours represent missed accountability wasted public money and a widening gap between promises and performanceAnd that is something no legislature and no democracy can afford to ignoreSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper