| 'Planned deadlock' in Vidhan Sabhas, parliament not good: Om Birla | | | Agencies
CHANDIGARH, Feb 14: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday said agreements and disagreements are the strengths of democracy, but a "planned deadlock", be it in Vidhan Sabhas or parliament, is not good. Birla was speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of a two-day orientation programme for the members of the Haryana Legislative Assembly which commenced here on Friday.
"Discussion and dialogue is the soul of democracy. An agreement or disagreement is the strength of democracy but I believe that be it in Vidhan Sabhas or parliament, a planned deadlock is not appropriate for democracy," Birla said.
"This new trend of planned deadlocks is neither good for the country nor any state as they disrupt the House and legislative business is also impacted with precious time getting wasted," he added.
Birla said it is a matter of pride that India is the biggest democracy in the world. After Independence, under the guidance of the constitution, be it the state assemblies or parliament, new laws have been enacted, he noted.
In parliament, we have removed unnecessary colonial-era laws. We have also framed new laws after independence as per requirement of the time, said Birla. It is the job of a state assembly and Lok Sabha to enact a law, he said as he stressed the importance of discussions and debates on enacting a good law.
Speaking about legislators, he said people elect them with great hope and aspirations and the elected representatives should try to resolve the peoples issues. They may be the legislators of a Vidhan Sabha but they also have the responsibility of leading a state. It is also their responsibility to hold discussions on important issues, policies and plans of a state, he said. He emphasised healthy discussions and dialogues in Vidhan Sabhas for which he said, orientation programmes were important.
Haryana Vidhan Sabha is increasing the number of sittings, holding discussions, using paperless technology, he said. Parliamentary committees of Vidhan Sabhas also work as mini parliament, he said, adding that these have an important role in bringing transparency to the executive (karyapalika). Replying to a question, he laid emphasis on extensive discussion and debates on draft bills in the House.
In some states, it is a process that a bill is presented in the morning and it is passed in the evening. "It is not appropriate," he said.
The orientation programme was inaugurated by Birla and will conclude on Saturday.
During the two-day programme, members of the Haryana Legislative Assembly will be briefed on various topics like executive accountability, the role of a minister in the legislative processes, and parliamentary privileges, among others, a statement said.
The orientation programme for the members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Haryana, of which 40 are first-timers, is being organised by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat in collaboration with the Haryana Legislative Assembly Secretariat. |
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