Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday said legislative institutions can help achieve sustainable development and inclusive governance by ensuring accountability and transparency of the Executive, making governance responsible and efficient.

He was chairing the Plenary Session of the 10th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) (India Region) Conference in Parliament House. The theme of the Session was “The role of legislative bodies in attainment of sustainable and inclusive development.”

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Forty-six Presiding Officers including four Chairmen, 25 Speakers, three Deputy Chairmen, and 14 Deputy Speakers of State Assemblies and Union Territory legislatures from the country attended the conference.

Mr Birla said that India’s Constitution is the strongest example of the spirit of inclusive governance which inspires and guides the country to move forward, taking everyone along on the path of development.

Building a self-reliant and developed India will not be possible without cooperation and support of legislative institutions, he said.

It is the responsibility of public representatives and legislative bodies to come up with solutions to the challenges and obstacles on the path of inclusive development, Mr Birla said.

India’s vision of inclusive development encompasses various aspects of development including good governance, social progress, economic development, and environmental sustainability.

The historic legislations passed by Parliament of India have enhanced the pace of development in India and they have made India’s progress more inclusive, reaching to the last person in the row, he said.

The Lok Sabha Speaker emphasised on the use of technology to improve efficiency and functioning of legislatures. He said the legislative bodies should discuss on various platforms and shape welfare schemes for the benefit of the last person of the society through technology.

In the current context, when technology and means of communication have become a part of people’s daily lives, public representatives should find ways and means to meet the increasing aspirations and expectations of the people from democracy through legislative institutions, he said.

Stating that India’s future lies in building a system in accordance with hopes and aspirations of the people, he said that India can emerge as a model democratic nation through inclusive engagement and creation of a responsible system within the rapidly changing world.

The legislatures have to smoothly discharge the functions and duties necessary for sustainable and inclusive development where equal opportunities are available to all and all sections of the society have equal access to such opportunities; and even the most vulnerable and deprived sections of the society are included in the journey of development, Mr Birla said.

He urged the Presiding Officers and legislators to reflect on the extent to which they had succeeded in fulfilling the expectations and aspirations of the people in the journey of the last seven decades. Without this introspection, the dream of inclusive development cannot be realised, he added.

Earlier, the Lok Sabha Speaker chaired the Executive Committee meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region in Parliament House where he emphasised on enhanced public participation in the democratic system.

Mr Birla suggested that Legislative Bodies must engage with grassroots level bodies, especially Panchayati Raj Institutions, and by doing so, they would be discharging their responsibilities of fulfilling needs and aspirations of people more effectively.