Chandigarh, June 9 (IANS) Frequent interruptions and disruptions in the Houses pose a serious challenge to democratic institutions, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the second Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region Zone-II (North Zone), the Speaker underlined that the solution to this problem “lies within the legislative institutions themselves by promoting conduct aligned with public expectations, dialogue, and meaningful discussion.”
“Strengthening public trust is the greatest responsibility of all public representatives today,” he said, calling upon legislators to ensure exemplary conduct so that the welfare of the last person in society can be secured.
Birla emphasised that society is shaped by the conduct and behaviour of its leadership. “The public has elected and sent us here; our conduct has a direct impact on society,” he noted, expressing hope that legislators would assimilate these resolutions in their respective states and institutions.
Expressing happiness over the successful organisation of the two-day conference, Birla said public representatives and policy-makers from various states shared their experiences, perspectives, and innovations. The conference concluded with four important resolutions aimed at making legislative institutions more effective, accountable, and people-centric.
He said the dream of a Developed India (Viksit Bharat) is anchored on strong parliamentary and legislative institutions. To achieve this, it is essential to increase public participation, maximise the use of technology, enhance legislators’ capacity, ensure citizen involvement in the framing of policies and laws, and raise awareness of the Constitution and constitutional institutions.
Birla added that all resolutions passed at the conference formed a strong foundation for the future, through which legislative and democratic institutions would progress with public cooperation. He stressed that “our objective is to build a participatory democracy that accords special importance to the development of states, as the dream of a Developed India will only be realised through the holistic development of the states.”
He said that in India’s federal structure, the states and the Centre can fulfil the aspirations of the people only by working together through schemes, laws, and policies. Transformation with new perspectives and fresh ideas is the need of the hour, he added.
Birla expressed satisfaction that nearly 40 speakers gave meaningful suggestions during the conference and voiced confidence that “if we act promptly on these ideas, both public participation and trust in the country’s democratic institutions will increase.”
Presiding officers from the legislatures of 12 states participated in this two-day CPA India Region Zone-II (North Zone) Conference. In addition to the member states of CPA Zone-II—Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Delhi—Presiding Officers from other state legislatures, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Sikkim, and West Bengal also participated.
–IANS
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