Lok Sabha Secretariat
Camp
Srinagar
Monday, 21st June 2010
The 75th Conference of the Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India which was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt Meira Kumar on 20 June 2010 in the Chamber of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Srinagar, concluded today.
The Conference which was also attended by the Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri K. Rahman Khan; the Hon’ble Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Kariya Munda; and Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India, discussed the two items on the Agenda, viz. ‘Significance of the Committee System in Parliament and the Need to Strengthen It’ and ‘Growing Tendency to Disrupt the Question Hour and the Need to Check It’.
In her concluding remarks, the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Conference, Smt. Meira Kumar said both the subjects are very topical and highly relevant in the present day context. She was happy that the Conference had highly fruitful and enlightening deliberations on both the items.
The Presiding Officers were unanimous in their view about the crucial role which the Committees play in ensuring accountability of the Executive to the Parliament/Legislatures. The importance of the Committees is also evident from the fact that legislators can express their views freely and frankly during Committee deliberations. The Committees which are considered as mini Legislatures, are vested with tremendous power but the critical question that needs to be addressed is how effectively are we able to utilize the true potential of the Committees. Almost all the Presiding Officers emphasized the need to strengthen the Committee system by making it mandatory for the Government to furnish action taken report on the reports of the Committees. A view was also expressed that all the Legislatures in the country should implement Committee system.
A significant point which came to the fore during the deliberations was that notwithstanding the potential of the Committee system, the functioning and efficacy of the same is not even in all legislative bodies. Hence a need was felt for formulation of a comprehensive and well laidout code or guidelines for effective functioning of the Committee system uniformly in all legislative bodies in India. The Conference desired adoption of a suitable Resolution expressing the collective view that had emerged during the deliberations of the Conference.
The two-day Conference commenced with the discussion on the subject ‘Significance of the Committee System in Parliament and the need to strengthen it’ on 20 June 2010. Dr. A. Chakrapani, Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, initiated the discussion. Shri K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha also participated in the debate.
The Conference took up the subject ‘Growing tendency to disrupt the Question Hour and the Need to Check It’ today. Shri Dharam Lal Kaushik, Speaker, Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha, initiated the discussion. Shri K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and the Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Kariya Munda participated in the discussion. During the deliberations, there was consensus among the Presiding Officers that Question Hour is essential for the efficacy of any democratic legislature. Question is the most effective device available with the members for scrutinizing the actions of the Executive. Lamentably, more often than not, in their zeal to raise topical and burning issues of public concern, the legislators end up disrupting the very medium i.e., Question Hour, which provides them the best possible opportunity to ensure Executive accountability to the Legislature. Disruptions of Question Hour in the ultimate analysis deprive the people of their voice being effectively heard through their representatives in the Legislatures. Under the circumstances, the Presiding Officers felt the urgent need to find ways and means to cope with the situation. It was observed that Question Hour is disrupted sometimes by members but most of the times at the instance of their political leadership. A situation which is worth taking note of is that disruption of Question Hour by a member or members certainly tantamounts to causing impediments in the performance of Parliamentary duties of other members who are deprived of the opportunity of asking questions due to such disruptions. Such acts of disruption of Question Hour can also be interpreted to involve breach of privilege. Considering the fact that Question Hour, being the very first hour of a sitting of the House, it becomes a casualty whenever members seek to raise a burning issue as soon as the House meets. Some suggestions such as commencing the House with Zero Hour either by having the sittings of the House a bit earlier or slating the Question Hour a bit later, etc. have been put forth.
The Speaker observed that deliberations on both the subjects were very rewarding and enriching. At the end of the day, the onus of conducting the proceedings of the House smoothly and effectively vests with the Presiding Officers. The consensus which emerges from the deliberations, a manifestation of our collective wisdom, benefits all of us.
The Conference passed a Resolution unanimously re-emphasizing the need and significance of the Committee System for securing accountability of the Executive to the Legislature through in-depth scrutiny of the budget, monitoring and review of performance of the Ministries and Departments of Government; making Government spending and working more transparent; detailed scrutiny of legislative proposals and examination of policy initiative of the Government. The Conference also desired that the Committee system, in particular the Standing Committees, be implemented in all State Legislatures expeditiously and all Legislatures may adopt a uniform Committee System.
The Speaker, Lok Sabha and Chairperson of the Conference, Smt. Meira Kumar constituted a Committee of Presiding Officers under the Chairmanship of Shri K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha to look into the problem of disruption of Question Hour in detail and suggest the remedial measures at the earliest. Shri Veeranna Mathikatti, Chairman, Karnataka Legislative Council; Shri N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Speaker, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly;Shri Wanglin Lowangdong, Speaker, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly; Shri Dharam Lal Kaushik, Speaker, Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha; Shri Ashok Chandulal Bhatt, Speaker, Gujarat Legislative Assembly; Shri Mohammad Akbar Lone, Speaker, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly; Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Speaker, Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha and Shri Sukhdeo Rajbhar, Speaker, Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha are the other members of the Committee.
The Speaker, Lok Sabha, on behalf of the fellow Presiding Officers, acknowledging the valuable contributions to the parliamentary system and to the Conferences of Presiding Officers made by Shri Hashim Abdul Halim, Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, wished him a happy and healthy retired public life.
Tomorrow, i.e. on 22nd June 2010, Shri Omar Abdullah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, will inaugurate the Symposium on Performance of the Legislators in the House-Ensuring Accountability to the People at the Chamber of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative assembly. Besides the Presiding Officers, Members of Parliament from Jammu and Kashmir and Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature will also participate in the Symposium.
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