Q.If ministers propose most bills and majority party passes them, what is Parliament's role in law-making? What answer would you give Arif?

Even though the government proposes most bills and the majority usually passes them, Parliament still shapes, scrutinises, and legitimises every law before it takes effect. …

Arif's question captures something true about how bills usually originate — most bills are indeed proposed by ministers, drafted under Cabinet direction, and passed by a disciplined majority. But this does not mean Parliament is a mere rubber stamp. Several genuine checks operate before any bill becomes law.

First, a bill is not simply put to a vote the moment it is introduced. It is typically referred to a parliamentary committee, which studies it in detail and can recommend real changes — and while Parliament usually approves committee work with only minor alterations, this stage still means every bill gets independent, non-partisan scrutiny before the House votes on it. Second, the bill is debated clause by clause on the floor of the House, where members question, criticise, and can propose amendments in the open, forcing the government to publicly justify each provision. Third, the government does not always control both Houses: when it lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha — as happened under the Janata government in 1977 and the NDA government in 2000 — it can be forced into substantial concessions to get a bill through both Houses at all. Some bills, like the Lok Pal Bill, have failed to pass for exactly this reason, and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill was outright rejected by the Rajya Sabha in 2002. Finally, no bill becomes law without formally being passed by Parliament and then receiving the President's assent — this formal requirement is what gives a law its legitimacy and auth …