The Lok Sabha speaker, Om Birla has said that the legislative bodies like Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas should not be allowed to become political battle grounds. He added that there should be debate, dissent and discussion in the house but there should be no disturbance and the house should run smoothly.
Birla was speaking during the inaugural session of the 79th conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies here on Wednesday. The speaker said that the disruptions hurt the very soul of democracy because the rights of members are compromised.
In this context, he informed that the during the first session of the current Lok Sabha no time was wasted on disruption as a result of which 35 bills were passed in 37 sitting and the productivity of the house was recorded 125 percent. Similarly, in the winter session of Lok Sabha also, 115 percent productivity was achieved.
Birla said that efforts are being done to ensure that special sessions are organised in every assembly in the year 2021 which marks completion of 100 years of the conference of the presiding officers.
Underlining the importance of the question hour in the parliamentary democracy, the Lok Sabha speaker said that the issues of the public interests are raised by the members and efforts should be made that maximum number of members are allowed to raise issues during it. He added that the presiding officers should ensure that the maximum possible debates and discussions are held. One of salient feature of the democracy is that the members control functioning of executive and transparency is achieved in functioning of Government.
The chief minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat said that speakers act as guardians of democracy and smooth functioning of the house is the mandate and responsibility of the speaker. Asserting that Uttarakhand would have paperless e -cabinets, the CM suggested that the proceedings of the Vidhan Sabhas too should become paperless. Congratulating Lok Sabha speaker for skillfully handling of house which has resulted in increase in efficiency, CM Rawat said that speaker of Uttarakhand Prem Chand Agarwal too is managing the house wonderfully. He added that uneasy situations are created in the house on many occasions and it is for the speaker to harmonise the virtues of moderation, decency, aggression and discipline.
Earlier, delivering the welcome address, the Speaker, Uttarakhand assembly, Prem Chand Agarwal said that the mandate of legislature is to keep a check on the executive and to give representation to peoples’ voice.
He said that MLAs must remain sincere to the people they represent, remain committed to democracy, and discharge their responsibilities with complete honesty.
These, he said, are the basic elements of success of parliamentary democracy. He added that politics is not a profession but a mission and for the success of democracy, active dialogue and discussion are very important. Agarwal emphasized that active cooperation of the opposition with the Presiding Officers is necessary for the smooth and orderly conduct of legislative business.
He hoped that the outcome of this Conference would lead to new avenues of cooperation and dialogue among Legislatures. The deputy speaker of Uttarakhand assembly, Raghunath Singh Chauhan delivered vote of thanks.