NEW DELHI: The Winter Session of Parliament is suddenly faced with what can be termed as the “Mahua Moitra effect” with regard to Lok Sabha members sharing their password and OTP for their official portal or App, for submitting notices for questions in the House, submitting their travel bills and even accessing their official email.
After the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee faulted Trinamool Congress’ Lok Sabha MPMahua Moitra, for sharing her password for the member’s official email with an outsider (Hiranandani) to upload questions (on the Adani group) that she raised in the House, the LS secretariat is learnt to have blocked access to secretaries and personal assistants of MPs, to facilitate routine functions like submission of questions to be asked in the House, accessing emails and submitting TA (travel allowance) bills.The access is now restricted to the MP.
However, there has been no official notification regarding the restriction of access to authorized persons such as personal assistants, secretaries to members. Earlier they were authorized by MPs to access their official Digital Sansad portals and Apps, to help with submitting notices for questions to be raised during the Zero Hour, starred and unstarred questions or notices on issues to be raised under Rule 377.
As a result of blocking out assistants and secretaries, LS members are expected to handle their own digital parliamentary functions this Winter Session. But that is easier said than done, given the time and skill constraints of many members.
Hence, most LS members are learnt to be using the process that has been in place so far, but “unofficially” according to sources. “At best the members are sitting beside their assistants or secretaries, sharing the password and the OTP to get their work. Most MPs however have been sharing the password and the OTP as usual as they did earlier to participate in the Winter Session,” according to sources involved in the process.
With Digital Sansad coming into use since September 1, members were allowed to authorise their assistants or secretaries to access their handle. For the purpose, the email identities and phone numbers of the authorized persons would have to submitted with the Lok Sabha secretariat by the MP.
But, following the Moitra episode, the access to assistants have been blocked. In fact, secretaries and assistants to MPs have been barred so far, from entering the new Parliament building, since it was officially functional, it is learnt.
As a result, of the disruption in the system of putting out notices for questions in the House, etc, participatory functioning of Lok Sabha MPs have been moving at a slow pace for the Winter Session as compared to the last monsoon session.
For instance, on the day the winter session was notified (16\11\23), 203 MPs submitted just 879 questions they wanted to ask in the House, whereas in the Monsoon Session the number was 275 MPs putting up 1174 questions on 04\07\23 when the session was notified. With MPs unofficially reverting back to the digital system they were following before the assistance was blocked, the number of participation has gone up. On 21\11\23, 287 MPs put up 1219 questions, when on the fourth day after the Monsoon session was notified saw 299 MPs putting up 1266 questions.
After the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee faulted Trinamool Congress’ Lok Sabha MPMahua Moitra, for sharing her password for the member’s official email with an outsider (Hiranandani) to upload questions (on the Adani group) that she raised in the House, the LS secretariat is learnt to have blocked access to secretaries and personal assistants of MPs, to facilitate routine functions like submission of questions to be asked in the House, accessing emails and submitting TA (travel allowance) bills.The access is now restricted to the MP.
However, there has been no official notification regarding the restriction of access to authorized persons such as personal assistants, secretaries to members. Earlier they were authorized by MPs to access their official Digital Sansad portals and Apps, to help with submitting notices for questions to be raised during the Zero Hour, starred and unstarred questions or notices on issues to be raised under Rule 377.
As a result of blocking out assistants and secretaries, LS members are expected to handle their own digital parliamentary functions this Winter Session. But that is easier said than done, given the time and skill constraints of many members.
Hence, most LS members are learnt to be using the process that has been in place so far, but “unofficially” according to sources. “At best the members are sitting beside their assistants or secretaries, sharing the password and the OTP to get their work. Most MPs however have been sharing the password and the OTP as usual as they did earlier to participate in the Winter Session,” according to sources involved in the process.
With Digital Sansad coming into use since September 1, members were allowed to authorise their assistants or secretaries to access their handle. For the purpose, the email identities and phone numbers of the authorized persons would have to submitted with the Lok Sabha secretariat by the MP.
But, following the Moitra episode, the access to assistants have been blocked. In fact, secretaries and assistants to MPs have been barred so far, from entering the new Parliament building, since it was officially functional, it is learnt.
As a result, of the disruption in the system of putting out notices for questions in the House, etc, participatory functioning of Lok Sabha MPs have been moving at a slow pace for the Winter Session as compared to the last monsoon session.
For instance, on the day the winter session was notified (16\11\23), 203 MPs submitted just 879 questions they wanted to ask in the House, whereas in the Monsoon Session the number was 275 MPs putting up 1174 questions on 04\07\23 when the session was notified. With MPs unofficially reverting back to the digital system they were following before the assistance was blocked, the number of participation has gone up. On 21\11\23, 287 MPs put up 1219 questions, when on the fourth day after the Monsoon session was notified saw 299 MPs putting up 1266 questions.
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