Om Birla Calls For Quality Standards In Legislatures

Lucknow: At the 86th All India Presiding Officer’s Conference, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla emphasized the need to establish quality standards in the functioning of legislative institutions.

January 21 will be the third and final day of the Conference. On this occasion, the Lok Sabha Speaker will deliver the valedictory address. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also attend the closing ceremony and address the Conference.

On the second day of the Conference, extensive deliberations were held on three major themes. The first focused on the use of technology for transparent, efficient and citizen-centric legislative processes.

The second centered on improving efficiency and strengthening democratic governance through capacity building of legislators.

The third pertained to the accountability of legislatures to the public. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was present during these plenary discussions.

The deliberations were moderated by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

Addressing the Conference, the Lok Sabha Speaker appreciated the efforts of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana to integrate best practices being adopted by legislatures across the country into the functioning of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Honourable speaker Om Birla also commended the initiative to recognize the educational qualifications and professional experiences of legislators and to make constructive use of them.

Recalling the key deliberations of previous Conferences, Lok Sabha speaker stressed the need for healthy competition among state legislatures on parameters such as excellence, innovation and the use of technology.

In this context, referring to the discussions held during the Conference organized in Dehradun in 2019, he reiterated his long-term vision for improving the efficiency and functioning of state legislatures.

He informed, a committee has been constituted which is deliberating on issues related to the standardization of processes and practices of legislative bodies in India.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh emphasized the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enhancing the efficiency of state legislatures.

He also highlighted various steps required to make this technology appropriate and reliable.

Outlining the practical use of AI in Parliament and different methods of its implementation, he underscored the need for greater coordination between Parliament and state legislatures, so that institutional knowledge can be effectively utilized by both.