Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday inaugurated an orientation programme for members of Bihar legislative assembly and council in Patna on the occasion of foundation day of Bihar legislative Assembly.

Speaking on this occasion, Birla said that in order to make the Parliament and the Legislatures effective, it is necessary that the public representatives should be sensitive to the problems of the people and work towards fulfilling their hopes and aspirations through legislative means.

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Strongly emphasising on dignity and decorum of the House, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that in democracy, sanctity of the House is linked to conduct of the Members. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of the Members to maintain its sanctity, he added.

“The House is meant for debate and dialogue and not planned disruption,” Birla said. Expressing concern over sloganeering and use of placards in the wells of the Houses of legislatures, he said time has come for all legislatures and political parties to collectively find a solution to this.

Referring to the Digital Sansad App of Lok Sabha, Birla called upon the Legislatures of all the States to work in this direction. He also informed that the Lok Sabha is working in a mission mode in so that the information of all legislatures could be brought on one platform.

Observing that public representatives should maintain highest standards of ethical conduct, the Speaker said that every step of a public representative should be in the direction of probity and transparency. “They should maintain the highest standards of conduct in public and private life. Their conduct should be such that it raises the prestige of this House, inspires the society and sets an example for others,” he stressed.

On the roles and responsibilities of the legislators, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that as the bridge between the public and the government, their primary responsibility is to find solutions to people’s problems.

“They should ensure that the trust of the people in democracy is strengthened. Public representatives should ensure that hopes and aspirations of people are fulfilled and welfare programmes reach the last person in the row so that positive socio-economic transformation takes place in the society. Today, when we are celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava, we need to rededicate ourselves to strengthen our country and our democracy,” he added.

Referring to 121 per cent productivity in the recently concluded 8th Session of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha, Birla stressed on the need to introduce productivity competition in state legislatures. He also emphasized that all stakeholders should look into the decreasing duration of sittings so that the sentiments of the people could be respected.

Om Birla also launched Bihar Vidhan Sabha Digital TV and Bihar Vidhan Sabha Patrika. He also unveiled a replica of Shatabdi Smriti Stambh of Bihar Vidhan Sabha Bhawan and planted a Bodhi tree at the premise.

The Orientation Programme was organized by Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat, in coordination with Bihar legislative assembly secretariat for the members of both Bihar legislative assembly and council. More than 300 Members of the Bihar legislature attended the programme.

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh; Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar; Speaker of Bihar Legislative Assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha; Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and several other dignitaries were present on the occasion.