Trend of planned deadlock in Parl not good for country: Birla

Expressing concern over “planned disruptions” in Parliament and state assemblies, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Friday said that discussion and dialogue are the bedrocks of democracy and this “new tradition” of stalling proceedings of the House is inappropriate for the country.

Addressing the legislators of Haryana after inaugurating the two-day orientation programme being held to train the MLAs, Lok Sabha speaker said that the strength of democracy lies in debate, dialogue, agreement, and disagreement.

“I believe that the new tradition of planned disruptions, whether in legislative assemblies or in Parliament, is neither appropriate for the state nor for the country,” Birla said even as he advised the governments to take positively the questions asked in the House.

Birla said that both the ruling and Opposition parties strengthen democracy. He said India has demonstrated to the world that democracy is the most effective form of governance. “Despite its diversity, India’s democratic framework has successfully united people,” he said, adding that meaningful debates in legislative bodies enhance leadership skills, and members should explore ways to use legislative institutions more effectively for public welfare.

Later, speaking to reporters, and flanked by Haryana assembly speaker Harvinder Kalyan and Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Birla reiterated that agreement or disagreement is the strength of “our democracy”.

He said that due to deadlocks the legislative business is impacted, and precious time of the House is wasted due to the planned deadlocks. He said that there should be better discussions and dialogues on all matters in the state assemblies.

The Lok Sabha speaker said that this training programme has been organised with the goal of addressing key aspects such as raising public issues in the assembly and ensuring their resolution, as well as gaining a deeper understanding of government policies.

Birla advocated extensive discussion and debates on draft bills in the House and said that in some states, the Bill is presented in the morning, and it is passed in the evening. “It is not appropriate,” he said.

Birla said that since the responsibility of enacting new laws lies with both the state assemblies and Parliament, training legislators, especially new ones, is important to ensure they have a thorough understanding of legislative procedures.

This, he said, will facilitate more informed discussions and dialogues on the bills introduced in the state assemblies, ultimately benefiting the public in the future. He further added that democracy is strengthened through proficiency in legislative work.

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.

Birla said that the more competent an elected representative is in legislative work, the better they will be able to meet public expectations and excel in leadership roles. He said through PRIDE; the Lok Sabha secretariat has organised training programmes for legislative drafting in 15 states.

Referring to all public-elected institutions as mini-assemblies, Birla stressed the importance of extensive discussions on public welfare in institutions such as gram panchayats, nagar palikas, zilla parishads, and panchayat samitis. He suggested that positive suggestions for legislative work should also be taken through gram sabhas.

“The more serious and participatory these discussions are, the more they will help in controlling the executive, improving governance, and curbing corruption,” he said.

On this occasion, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, assembly speaker Harvinder Kalyan, Uttar Pradesh assembly speaker Satish Mahana, Haryana assembly deputy speaker Dr Krishna Lal Middha, and Congress MLA BB Batra also addressed the MLAs.