Disruptions in legislatures can come down if voters hold their elected representatives accountable for their behaviour in the House, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Monday.
Delivering the inaugural address at the ninth Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India region conference, Mr. Birla made a strong pitch for using digital technology so that citizens get access to the functioning of the legislative bodies and could see the participation of their elected representatives.
He said information provided in various legislatures should be exhaustive and comprehensive and informed that work on a common platform — One Nation One Legislative platform — was under way to put every issue raised in an Assembly or Parliament, every debate, every question was posted online.
Mr. Birla observed that legislatures, be it the Parliament or the State Legislative Assemblies and Councils, represent the dreams and aspirations of 140 crore Indians.
“If someone who uses RTI [right to information] has more information than the legislative bodies then it is a matter of worry,” Mr. Birla told the conference, attended by Speakers and Deputy Speakers from across the country.
The Lok Sabha Speaker said use of digital technology not only provided better access to a citizen but also made the process of governance more participative.
Live proceedings
“When the voters of a particular legislature start questioning their elected representatives about disruptions and unparliamentary conduct inside the House, then disruptions will come down. And I am happy that most legislative assemblies have made their proceedings live,” Mr. Birla said.
The Lok Sabha Speaker also said that though Presiding Officers were elected on a party ticket, they had become impartial and neutral on assuming the Chair.
Mr Birla pointed out that while agreements and disagreements were part of democratic traditions, every side should adopt a constructive approach on issues that concerned the nation or a province.
The theme of the two-day regional conference of the CPA is “Strengthening Democracy and good governance in digital age”.
Speaking before Mr. Birla, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot credited former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for ushering in a “digital revolution”.
“Our rivals keep mentioning his [Rajiv Gandhi] statement of 15 paise reaching a beneficiary if one rupee of public fund is spent. Today they say we make one rupee reach the beneficiary through DBT [Direct Benefit Transfer]. What they don’t say is that Rajiv ji brought in the digital revolution by working on mission mode,” Mr. Gehlot said.
While Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh spoke on the role of technology in governance, Rajasthan Speaker C.P. Joshi delivered the welcome address to delegates.
