Om Birla expresses grave concern over unruly behaviour in legislative houses

Inaugurating the first National Legislators’ Conference in the city, Birla said the declining number of sittings of assemblies and Parliament, increasing indiscipline among members and lowering the dignity of the House have always been matters of concern for the presiding officers

Mumbai: Voicing concern over disruptions in assemblies and Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday said it is important to find solutions to problems through dialogue and discussion to uphold people’s trust in democratic institutions.

Mumbai, India - June 16, 2023: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, former Lok Sabha Speakers Sumitra Mahajan and Dr. Meira Kumar during the National Legislators Conference 2023 at Jio Center, BKC in Mumbai, India, on Friday. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

Inaugurating the first National Legislators’ Conference in the city, Birla said the declining number of sittings of assemblies and Parliament, increasing indiscipline among members and lowering the dignity of the House have always been matters of concern for the presiding officers.

“There can be differences of opinion as legislators belong to different political parties, but not discussing laws, issues and policies does not augur well for democracy,” Birla said at the conference attended by presiding officers and legislators from across the country.

Former Lok Sabha speakers Shivraj Patil, Meira Kumar and Sumitra Mahajan were also present at the conference and shared concerns voiced by Birla.

The lawmakers also pressed upon the need to take urgent steps to take corrective measures to correct the public perception.

Birla’s predecessor Sumitra Mahajan said that the word ‘neta’ is synonymous with a bad reputation and that several leaders today do not wish to be called a neta. She said that it was the responsibility of the young lawmakers to gain lost glory. Former speaker Meira Kumar said that political leaders should work to eradicate social evils like corruption, communalism, and criminalisation among others.

Birla also spoke on the role of a legislator as one of the great responsibilities as they are a crucial link between the citizen and the executive. “The public representatives must not only be accountable to the people they represent but also should ensure transparency in their actions. They should adhere to best practices and leverage public confidence in the houses,” he said.

Birla continued, “The legislators should effectively convey issues of the public interest, wishes, needs and aspirations of the populace to the executive. It is also crucial that discussions and dialogues in legislatures should be result oriented to effectively address the concerns. Democracy is the moral system and thus it is imperative on the part of the legislators to self-analyse the shortcomings and find solutions to the challenges of the future.”

Drawing reference from the recent incidents in Lok Sabha and legislatures, Birla opined that it was the matter of grave concern. He said that the uproar, sloganeering and adjournments are a matter of concern as they diminish the dignity of the democracy.

The 3-day NLC being held at the Jio World Convention Centre, BKC from June 15 to 17 was inaugurated by Birla on Friday.

Ten thematic parallel sessions, six roundtable sessions are being held during the 3-day conference in which MLAs, MLCs from almost all the states and union territories have participated. According to organisers, 1,470 lawmakers, 80 ministers, 30 speakers from various states attended the conference on Friday.

In his address to the conference, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stressed on the need to increase the number of sittings of the state assemblies to make them more accountable to the people.

He also said that the media sets the agenda for politicians and the lawmakers get driven away with it. “We get dragged onto the agenda because of the media. We forget our own agenda and the interest of the public at large. We are accountable to people and always keep the interest of the people in mind. More and more discussion and debate should take place on the issues that are closely related to the people. Many times important bills get passed without any discussions, which is against the interest of the people. It will help in strengthening democracy and it should be our ultimate goal irrespective of our ideology and parties we represent,” he said.