The Ninth Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region Conference, inaugurated on Monday by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at Udaipur, concluded on Tuesday with a valedictory address by Vice-President and Chairman, Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra; Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Dr C P Joshi; and Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (HQ) Ian Liddel Grainger were present.
Addressing the Valedictory Session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that if “we want to take our country on the path of growth and prosperity, we need to replace obsolete laws by contemporary laws to suit the relevance and requirements of present times.”

“By making necessary changes in the laws, with a transparent and accountable governance system, we will move forward towards a developed India with socio-economic transformation in the lives of people. Legislatures are platforms for thorough debates and discussions to meet the present and future challenges,” asserted Mr Birla.

Expressing concern over the decline in dignity and decorum in legislatures, the Lok Sabha Speaker observed that dignity of legislatures depends on how lawmakers behave in the House to improve people’s lives. In this regard, he highlighted the role of legislators in finding solutions to present and future challenges.

By taking positive initiatives to solve important issues of their regions and States and by developing a comprehensive action plan for the future, public representatives can contribute to make India prosperous and developed by 2047, observed Mr Birla.
“Dignity and prestige of our Legislatures will increase only when people’s representatives hold meaningful discussions and dialogues on important issues of the country and society,” added Mr Birla.

People’s representatives have the responsibility to reflect the hopes and aspirations of the people and to solve their problems by bringing them before the Government. And, instead of resorting to disruptions in the House, they should use legislatures as fora for fulfillment of hopes and aspirations of people. By using digital technology for this purpose, they will improve their effectiveness and will make their work easier, said Mr Birla.

Mr Birla urged Presiding Officers to ensure that Rules are made at the earliest after passage of laws so that implementation is quicker. And, lawmakers must take the responsibility to educate people on laws passed in legislatures because public awareness of laws is key to their effective implementation.

In his valedictory address, the Vice-President said public representatives are supposed to be role models for the people and that they have the responsibility to address the challenges faced by the people. Mr Dhankhar underscored the paramount role of public representatives to ensure executive accountability and fiscal discipline in governance.
The Vice President, who is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha also, said the institution of public representatives is under severe strain and the temples of democracy which are meant for dialogue, deliberation, debate and discussion are these days the hotbeds of disturbance and disruptions.

He emphasized that a dysfunctional legislature has the potential to undermine democratic values and would impede blossoming of democracy.

Mr Dhankhar stated that out of the three organs of the Government – the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive – the Judiciary and the Executive act in harmony, while the Legislature, which is supreme, has become vulnerable during these days.
Disorder in the temples of democracy has become a new norm. He stated that Parliament alone is the repository of the will of the people and effective and proactive functioning of the legislature is the safest guarantee to blossoming of democratic values.

Acknowledging that both the Government and the Opposition play indispensable roles within the framework of parliamentary democracy, he added that Parliament where the government and the opposition work in tandem, is in the interest of the nation and the synergy between the Government and the Opposition is pivotal. The prime role of the Opposition in the legislature is to generate accountability and transparency.

Presiding Officers of 23 States and Union Territories participated in the conference. Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan also attended.