Country loses the most due to disruptions in Parliament: PM

The government has the least to lose due to disruptions in Parliament and it is the country which loses the most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday while stressing on effective functioning of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

He also said it is the duty of each parliamentarian to lend voice to the problems of the common man in Parliament and force the government to take steps for their welfare.

The prime minister was speaking at an event at the central hall of Parliament to confer the best parliamentarian awards for the years 2014 to 2017.

"It is important for MPs to express the voice of the poor and the marginalised. Sadly, when there is noise and chaos in the House, MPs are not able to speak and the loss is of the entire nation," he said.

He further said, "The government has the least to lose due to din in Parliament. It is the country which loses the most."

Parliament is a forum to debate and even criticise the government, he said stressing upon the need for Parliament to function effectively.

"The words spoken in Parliament are on record and they will be a part of the history books. That is why, it is important for Parliament to function effectively," he said.

The prime minister's remarks came in the backdrop of frequent disruptions in Parliament due to uproar by the opposition on various issues.

"In a such a big nation, the MPs bring with them the dreams and aspirations of their constituents," he said.

The budget session of the Parliament saw a near washout because of protests by a united opposition on a variety of issues including demand for granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The opposition, however, put the blame on the ruling party for the disruptions and alleged that it is using its friendly parties to cause the din.

Among those who received the awards include Najma Heptullah, Hukmdev Narayan Yadav, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Dinesh Trivedi and Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the opposition to be responsible, for the government to become "more responsive".

Meanwhile, the Congress said Prime Minister Modi's "definition" of disruption is that the opposition should not raise anything with which the government disagrees.

Congress spokesperson and senior leader A M Singhvi said the whole nation knows that the Houses were running perfectly without interruption.

The Congress leader said, "Indeed, last time in the last session, the sabotage and the interruption came from the government when the no-confidence was to be moved. This time there was absolutely no disruption, but the prime minister's definition of disruption is that the opposition should not raise anything with which the government disagrees."

"We are raising the issue, not of NRC (Assam's National Register of Citizens), but of exclusion of genuine Indian citizens, Hindus and Muslims alike. Now, if you don't like that issue you cannot say why the House is disrupted...you did not allow proper discussion," Singhvi said.

He said the Congress was "very much for" genuine Indian citizens to be included and "non-genuine non-citizens" to be excluded in Assam's NRC, but that does not mean that "there is arbitrary exclusion".

Names of over 40 lakh people in Assam do not figure in the draft NRC, which is being prepared to identify illegal migrants in the state. The second draft of the NRC was published in Guwahati earlier this week.

Opposition Congress and TMC has stalled the functioning of the Rajya Sabha for two days over the issue.