Lok Sabha Speaker moots ‘one nation, one set of rules for legislatures’ for better productivity

By PTI

SHIMLA: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday mooted the idea of ‘one nation, one uniform set of legislative rules and procedures’ to make legislatures in the country more productive and accountable to the people.

Addressing the centenary year celebrations of the All India Presiding Officers’ Conference in Shimla, Birla expressed concern over a decline in the number of sittings in legislative bodies and a lack of discussion over law making.

He underlined that there is a need to take decisive measures in this direction after consultation with all political outfits.

Birla also called upon presiding officers to review the procedures and rules of legislative bodies to ensure that people’s rights can be protected.

A model document should be prepared for uniformity of laws and procedures in all legislative bodies, he said.

“With a collective resolve, we should prepare such a model document that when 100 years of our independence are completed, there should be uniformity in the rules and procedures of all the legislatures, and the working of the legislative bodies should be according to the hopes and aspirations of the people,” Birla said.

“There are different sets of rules in different state assemblies. In a democratic country, there should be one set of uniform rules for legislative business across the country. One nation, one uniform set of rules and procedures for legislative bodies,” he added.

The Lok Sabha Speaker said the move would make “legislatures more productive and accountable to the people.”

However, nothing will be “bulldozed” on anyone, he said.

Talking about legislative proceedings, Birla said, “The decreasing number of meetings of the legislatures and the lack of discussion at the time of making laws are also a matter of concern for us.

“Therefore some decisive steps need to be taken after consulting all political parties so that the dignity and the prestige of the law making bodies can be enhanced further.”

Pitching for changes in rules and procedures of legislative bodies, he said changes should be brought in the functioning of law making bodies “so that they can be made the carriers of fulfilling the hopes and expectations of the people, and democracy in the country becomes stronger”.

Underlining that the broader objective of law making bodies should be to protect the rights of the people, Birla said the role of public representatives should be strong, accountable and transparent.

The All India Presiding Officers’ Conference, the apex body of the legislatures in India, is celebrating its 100th year in 2021.

To commemorate the centennial year, the conference is being be held in Shimla on November 17-18.

The first conference was also held in Shimla in 1921.