Lok Sabha Secretariat

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Srinagar, 22 June 2010: A Symposium on ‘Performance of the Legislators in the House – Ensuring Accountability to the People’ was held today in the Chamber of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Srinagar, following the 75th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India.  The Symposium, which was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Omar Abdullah, was attended by the Presiding Officers of Legislatures, Ministers, Members of Parliament from Jammu and Kashmir, Members of Jammu and Kashmir Legislature and Secretaries of Legislative Bodies.  The Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar and the Hon'ble Deputy Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, Shri Arvinder Singh Micky, also addressed the Delegates at the Inaugural Ceremony. 

In his Inaugural Address, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Shri Omar Abdullah, said accountability is the acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for policies, decisions and actions taken for running the administration and implementation of programmes with an obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resultant consequences.  In case of the legislators, accountability will not only mean accountability to the people who elect him or her, which is of course of paramount importance, but will also mean duty of the legislator to obey the rules and regulations of the Legislative Body of which he or she is a member, adhere to its code of conduct, its norms of discipline and decorum, its standards of ethical behaviour and its established best practices.

Referring to the role of Parliament and the State Legislatures, he said that these Institutions fulfil their mandate by making legislation, deliberating on issues of public importance, scrutinizing and overseeing executive action and providing the forum for ventilating people’s grievances.  Democracy thrives where the legislative body acts as the pivotal institution of scrutiny. He emphasized that those who are associated with the functioning of these institutions should devise ways and means to assess and monitor their performance. In this context, he suggested for an in-house mechanism for monitoring of the performance of the Legislature, quantitatively and qualitatively.

Touching upon the decline in both the standards of parliamentary and legislative work and the manner in which the parliamentarians and legislators conduct themselves inside and outside the House, the    Hon’ble Chief Minister said the number of days on which the Legislative Bodies sit to transact legislative and other parliamentary business and the number of hours devoted to debating important public issues have come down significantly.  Even, the fewer days on which these legislative bodies meet are often marked by pandemonium, resulting in frequent adjournment on trivial matters.  Absenteeism also has become a common phenomenon.   At times, it is difficult to start the session because of lack of quorum. He advised for taking corrective steps to restore the faith of the people in the Legislature as the highest democratic institution.  He was of the view that it is of utmost importance for the survival of democracy that the Legislative Bodies continue to occupy an esteemed position in the hearts and minds of the people.

He suggested that legislators should be provided an opportunity to attend orientation courses on issues pertaining to their roles and duties.  This may include even an audio-visual exposure to important sessions of the parliamentary wizards like late Shri Pillo Modi, late Shri Ram Manohar Lohia and late Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and debates on important issues facing the country and learn the nuances of parliamentary debate.

Hon’ble Chief Minister outlined several steps taken to streamline the working of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature and to ensure greater accountability. He said an effective Legislature is the harbinger of successful democracy. He underscored the need to strengthen democracy by making the legislative bodies the real power houses – feeding energy to the Governments.  Members need to exercise utmost restraint in their conduct and avoid petty politics on the issues related to the development and welfare of the people.  The success lies in members’ resolve to hold the public and national interest above their individual and party interests, he added.

In her address at the Symposium, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar said that when a member of Parliament or a member of the State Legislature takes oath before he takes his seat in the House, the oath requires him to faithfully discharge the duty.  This sacred pledge he makes to the people who elect him and the Legislature functions essentially for the purpose of redeeming this pledge. 

The Lok Sabha Speaker said that the legislators derive the authority to perform their constitutional duties in the House from the people in whose name the democratic institutions sustain their legitimacy.  Thus, when a legislator is elected, the people are assured through the oath which the representatives take that they will faithfully discharge their duties.  This is the basis of the accountability of the members to the people.  She also observed that the accountability of the members is a continuous process and remains in operation during their entire tenure which is implemented through various Parliamentary Committees.

The Speaker pointed out that the effectiveness of a Legislature squarely depends on the ability and sincerity of its members.  If the legislators perform their duties sincerely, the entire nation will be proud of them but if their performance falls short of people’s expectations, the Legislative Body is bound to suffer from performance-deficit, compromising its role as a law-making and oversight body.  She was of the view that members are responsible not only for passing legislations but also for transforming the society by changing the mindsets of the people. She said that members feel very strongly about issues pertaining to their electorate and want to articulate them in the House and their zeal may sometimes lead to disruption of scheduled business of the House.  But no member comes to the Parliament with an intention to disrupt its proceedings or create disturbances, she added.

The Speaker emphasized the need to devise more innovative methods which will open up a dialogue between the elected and the electors and provide the electorate with an opportunity to have a greater say in the functioning of their elected representatives thereby enhancing their accountability to those who have sent them to the Legislature.

Welcoming the Delegates to the Symposium, the Hon'ble Deputy Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, Shri Arvinder Singh Micky said that the citizens, who constitute the social fabric, always hope for a safe and prosperous future through the electoral process. Therefore, it becomes the duty of an elected representative to develop a sense of dedication and accountability and initiate a healthy, positive, people friendly and result-oriented programme for the welfare of the society. 

 Hon’ble Deputy Chairman said that a legislator, in order to enhance his accountability, has to cultivate many qualities and standard of life and set an example for the people to follow. To make the Legislature more accountable, educated people should be encouraged to enter the political arena. He stressed the need to have training courses on moral and ethical values regularly so that the members can address the burning issues of the society more effectively and can bridge the gap between the people and their elected representatives. 

Subsequently, there was a lively discussion on the subject in which as many as 17 Delegates participated. There was a general consensus that the credibility of the Legislatures and the parliamentary system greatly depends on the performance of the members.

In her concluding remarks, the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar said legislators personify the collective thought and collective voice of the people they represent.  The credibility of legislators and of legislative bodies, therefore, hinges entirely upon the performance of legislators in the House.  Legislators must, therefore, utilize their position in the parliamentary system of democracy to advance general well being of the people they represent and redress their grievances. The well considered views with regard to performance of legislators and ways and means suggested for ensuring their accountability to the people would go a long way in strengthening the credibility of our democratic polity.