Guillotine:
The ongoing stalemate in the Indian Parliament has led to the possibility of the government using ‘guillotine’ to fast-track the passage of the Finance Bill without any discussion in the Lok Sabha.
- This has led to confusion and questions about what exactly guillotine means in legislative parlance.
- The term guillotine originally referred to an apparatus designed for executions by beheading.
- It was introduced in France during the French Revolution to make capital punishment more reliable and less painful.
- In legislative parlance, guillotine means to bunch together and fast-track the passage of financial business.
- It is a fairly common procedural exercise in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session.
- Once the guillotine is applied, any remaining demands for grants are put to vote without further discussion.
- This ensures that the budget is passed within the allocated time, and the government can continue its work without any delay.
