Democracy comes naturally to Indians, Says LS Speaker Om Birla

Legislators should maintain high standards of discipline and decency as incidents of unruly behaviour tarnishes their image and is not good for democracy, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said as he inaugurated the First National Legislators’ Conference (NLC) here on Friday.

“India has always supremely upheld democratic systems. Democratic institutions have not only existed, but have thrived and flourished in different regions in India for millennia. Democracy comes naturally to Indians and is imbibed in our conduct, thoughts and behavior and it was a natural progression that Independent India opted for parliamentary democracy as our system of governance,” Birla said in his inaugural address.

The functioning of legislative bodies should be conducted in a dignified manner

Referring to the role of legislative bodies in ensuring socio-economic welfare of the people, the Speaker emphasized that the functioning of our legislative bodies should be conducted in a dignified manner. He, however, lamented the fact that recent incidents of commotion and interruptions in the Houses are a matter of grave concern. He cautioned that uproar, sloganeering and adjournment of the House in a planned manner are not good sign for our democracy which diminish the dignity of democracy itself.

Birla expressed the view that being the highest public representative institution, legislators are expected to work as a role model for other institutions and organizations of the country. In this context, he opined that legislators should maintain high standards of discipline and decency in their public life as incidents of unruly behavior tarnish their image. Being the representatives of the people, they should always try to hold the executive accountable to the House and House to the people.

Legislator's role shoulders greatest responsibility

“Role of a legislator is one of great responsibility as they are the crucial link between the citizen and the executive. As such, their sole responsibility is to effectively convey issues of the public interest, wishes, aspirations and needs of the populace to the executive. In this perspective, it is crucial that discussions and dialogues in legislatures should be result oriented to effectively address the concerns,” the Speaker said.

Birla also observed that democracy is our moral system and thus it is imperative on the part of the legislators to self-analyze the shortcomings and find solutions to the challenges of the future and opined that if solutions to the problems are not found by discussion and dialogue, then there will be judicial intervention which is not appropriate for the democracy.

“There should be extensive discussions and debates on policies and issues which can make our legislatures effective,” he said.

He sounded a note of caution that the public representative must not only be accountable to their people, but also to ensure transparency in all their actions. He urged the participants to share their best practices and learn from each other on this unique platform and leverage public confidence in the Houses and people’s representatives.

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Adv. Rahul Narwekar, Former Lok Sabha Speakers Shivraj Patil, Meira Kumar and  Sumitra Mahajan too were present at the function. Birla also inaugurated the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Innovation Expo that seeks to showcase Good Governance Models, Social Innovation and Innovative Development Models, Flagship Programs by State Governments, Institutions and  Individuals.