Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla presided over the meetings of the Executive Committee of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region and Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India held in Parliament House Annexe today.
Speaking to the media persons after the conclusion of the two meetings, Birla observed that thirty (30) Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India participated in the deliberations at today’s meeting and meaningful discussions on various subjects were held. Birla said that Presiding Officers were of the unanimous view that Parliament and State Legislatures, the representative institutions, are accountable to the people and matters concerning different regions need to be constructively discussed and debated in the House. Birla informed that there was a consensus among the Presiding Officers to increase the number of sittings of the State Legislatures and also to increase the productivity of legislative work. It was also felt that there is a need to have extensive and healthy debates in the Legislatures for passing the laws and the House needs to function without any interruptions. Birla further said that, in tune with the unanimity among Presiding Officers, a common Code of Conduct will be framed for Legislative Bodies to check interruptions. For this, a Committee of Presiding Officers would be formed, which after due consultations with the Speakers of Legislative Assemblies and the Chairmen of Legislative Councils, would present its report at the next Presiding Officers Conference to be held at Dehradun in November 2019.
Observing that in this digital age when new changes keep taking place, the use of technology needs to be uniform in Lok Sabha and all the State Legislatures in sync with the concept of ‘Ek Bharat’, Birla said that it was unanimously agreed upon by all the Presiding Officers that a Committee would look into the issue how National eVidhan Application (NeVA) would be uniformly applicable in the State Legislatures.
Underlining that public money should be spent judiciously and efficiently, Birla also said that an Action Taken Report would be prepared for improving the efficiency of Legislative Bodies. Birla further said that the Presiding Officers were of the view that the legislative process can be made more efficient with the help of better research and it should be ensured that quality research items are made available to Legislators for better performance in their respective Houses.
