New Delhi, 16 December 2009: Lok Sabha Speaker Smt. Meira Kumar inaugurated an Orientation Programme for new Members of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly today in Parliament Library Building.

Outlining the importance of the Rules of Procedure and conventions in the functioning of Legislatures, Smt. Kumar emphasized that every member, particularly the newly elected ones, should make a serious effort to comprehend the Rules of Procedure.  Only with that will they be able to utilize the procedural devices available in the Legislature for facilitating effective participation in the Assembly, and thereby for safeguarding public interest.  Referring to the need of specialization among members to perform their duties in Parliamentary Committees, Smt. Kumar urged the participants to develop necessary expertise and proficiency in techniques of inquiry into the complex working of the Government Departments.

Urging the members to be people-friendly legislators, the Lok Sabha Speaker observed that it is important to ensure that the content and quality of debates that take place in the Legislative Assemblies are of a high order befitting their status as people’s representatives. In this regard, she added that democracy demands that legislators to listen to and respect differing perceptions, even when they disagree with their political opponents.  It is through such democratic interaction only that they could arrive at a consensus and broaden their own perspectives, she added.

A total of 21 new Members, led by the Deputy Speaker of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, are attending the Orientation Programme, being  organized by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.