Addressing the conference of governors at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday, Vice-President Mohd Hamid Ansari expressed his concern over the non-functioning of state legislatures.

“The state legislatures have virtually ceased to function in the sense in which the legislature is expected to function in a democracy — that is to be both a legislative and a deliberative body. The deliberative aspect of work is to question and debate the policies of the Government. This is seriously jeopardised by the duration of sessions — rarely exceeding two weeks and at times as little as three days.”

He said there has been sufficient discussion in the media and in the civil society about wasted public expenditure due to partial functioning of legislatures. In such a situation, the question is should the governor be a mere spectator and allow the Constitution he is supposed to preserve and defend to be violated in spirit, if not in form? he added. Instead, Ansari said, the governor can use the prestige of his office to initiate and develop a non-partisan debate and seek a broad consensus.”