2019 · GS Paper 2 · Q15 · 15 marks
Individual Parliamentarian's role as the national lawmaker is on a decline, which in turn, has adversely impacted the quality of debates and their outcome. Discuss.
In short
Anti-defection whips, executive-drafted bills, constituency pressures and disruptions have weakened the individual MP as a lawmaker, thinning debate and producing hasty or reversed laws. Committee referral of bills fell from 71% in the 15th Lok Sabha to 25% in the 16th.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 290 words
Anti-defection law
The Tenth Schedule, upheld in Kihoto Hollohan (1992), penalises voting against the whip on any motion.
Executive monopoly
Ministries draft bills, and no private member's bill has become law since 1970.
Constituency focus and disruption
MPLADS (1993) pulls MPs to local work, and the 17th Lok Sabha met for only 274 days (PRS).
Thin scrutiny
Committee referral of bills fell from 71% in the 15th Lok Sabha to 25% in the 16th (PRS).
Hasty and reversed laws
The 2020 farm laws passed the Rajya Sabha by voice vote and were repealed in 2021.
Deliberation shifts to courts
Electoral bonds, routed through a Money Bill in 2017, were struck down in ADR v. Union of India (2024).
Debate not dead
The Personal Data Protection JPC (2019-21) and the Women's Reservation Act, 2023 debate show members can still shape law.
Narrow the whip
Confine whip-based disqualification to confidence motions, as the Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) suggested.
Committee referral and sittings
Refer every bill to committees and hold at least 120 Lok Sabha sittings a year (NCRWC, 2002).
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2019 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.