Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Thursday called for strengthening parliamentary institutions through meaningful debates, but warned against “deliberately created disruptions” that “decline the dignity” of discussions.
Birla was speaking at the inauguration of the 11th Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru. The theme of the 3-day conference is “Debates and Discussions in Legislative Assemblies, Winning Public Trust, and Fulfilling Their Aspirations”.
Addressing presiding officers from across the country, Birla said, “India’s democratic tradition is rooted in diversity and dialogue. The Constituent Assembly, through deep debate and deliberation, gave the nation the world’s finest Constitution.”
Birla underlined that “our common concern is deliberately created disruptions in the House”. “Whether it is the Legislative Assembly, Lok Sabha, or Rajya Sabha, the concern is that discussions and dialogues in the House, discussions on Bills, their dignity is declining. And creating dignity is a collective responsibility,” he said.
“Our common concern is that in the House, deliberately created disruptions — neither in the Assembly nor in Lok Sabha, continuous disruptions not having discussions — this is a matter of concern,” he stated.
Birla emphasised that Parliament serves as the foremost platform to reflect people’s aspirations and challenges. “The dignity of Parliamentary tradition is preserved only when Houses witness long debates and meaningful dialogue,” he said.
“The strength of India’s democracy is so great that even the voice of the last person in society reaches these Assemblies or Lok Sabha,” Birla said.
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While acknowledging that differences of opinion are natural in a democracy, Birla said, “Despite these, it is the collective responsibility of members to frame better policies for the nation, states and the people… differences must not result in disruptions. Instead, fact-based and constructive debates strengthen governance and deepen public trust.”