New Delhi Mar 26 PTI Chief Election Commissioner CEC Sushil Chandra on Saturday lamented the lack of representation of women in Parliament but at the same time pointed to the surge in the number of women coming out to vote in recent yearsHe also expressed concern over the time lost due to disruptions in Parliament saying this does not augur well for democracyAddressing an event here to give away Sansad Ratna awards Chandra said the first Lok Sabha had 15 women MPs and the 17th Lok Sabha has 78But the progress is still slow True Parliament has to be very very inclusive he saidThe CEC pointed out that in local bodies the Constitution guarantees a one-third reservation for women and noted that many grassroots-level women leaders have demonstrated their leadership qualities and brought about visible changes in their communitiesStressing the need to maintain a connect between the lawmakers and people he recalled voters telling him that after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a ban on physical campaigning some leaders came to their doorstep after a long gapOn the issue of disruptions in parliamentary proceedings Chandra said while heated arguments debates and speeches are a barometer of a robust Parliament frequent disruptions walkouts and hunger strikes are notThe time lost due to disruptions has seen a dramatic increase over the years with some sessions witnessing a complete wash out This does not augur well for a robust parliamentary democracy he saidParticipation in Parliament raising matters of critical importance by virtue of the Question Hour and the Zero Hour are established parliamentary practices This precious opportunity should not be wasted by theatrics or slogan-shouting or rushing to the well of the House Chandra saidOn the role of parliamentary standing committees he said due to the untelevised nature of the committee meetings the panels are also used as a forum for consensus-building among parties for controversial issues or contentious pieces of legislationThe CEC however said the dwindling attendance in the committee meetings is a cause of concern and the MPs must take part in these deliberations in a spirited and non-partisan mannerOn participation of women in elections he shared the data of the recently-held Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand Goa Punjab and ManipurIn four of the five states -- Goa Uttarakhand Manipur and Uttar Pradesh -- the women voter turnout exceeded the male voter turnout and it was nearly equal in Punjab he pointed outThe gender ratio has increased in all the five states In Uttar Pradesh alone it has gone up by 29 points Chandra saidSeeking to give an overview of the Indian electoral system he said there were 173 crore voters in the country and the turnout was around 456 per cent when the first Lok Sabha polls were conducted in 1951During the 2019 parliamentary polls the number of voters was around 912 crore and the voter turnout was the highest ever at 664 per centAs on today there are more than 953 crore voters of whom 4904 crore are men and 4609 crore are women Chandra said PTI VA NAB RC

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], December 17 (ANI): Election commission has zero tolerance towards abuse of money, power or government machinery, said Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra after taking note of poll preparedness ahead of 2022 Punjab Assembly polls.