Om Birla also addressed the members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. (File)
Shillong:
Constructive discussion and dialogue is the way to resolve all problems in a democracy, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Friday.
He was speaking at the launch of the second leg of the ”Outreach and Familiarisation Programme” for the local bodies of Meghalaya and other north-eastern states.
“In a democratic setup, solution to all problems can be achieved through constructive discussion and dialogue,” Mr Birla said.
The Lok Sabha Speaker, who is on his maiden visit to the region, added that “strengthening the process of discussion and dialogue” was the purpose of his visit.
“The speciality of our democracy is that there is dialogue and discussion, but our effort is to prevent that discussion from coming to a halt. Difference of opinion and disagreement is part of our democracy. And that is why as the Lok Sabha Speaker, I try to ensure that the discussion and dialogue continues without any obstruction,” he told reporters.
Mr Birla said democratic discussion and dialogue would allow all institutions, be it panchayat raj institutions or autonomous district councils, to address the issues facing the masses, and suggested the formulation of a “nation-wide system of sharing knowledge, experience and best practices”.
“There are a number of villages, village panchayats in our country which have chalked out ideal, social and economic models for all-round development as per their specific geographical and socio-economic conditions and established best practices to follow.
“It should be our endeavour that all the panchayats and local bodies may formulate a nation-wide system to share their knowledge, experience and best practices among themselves,” Mr Birla said.
He added that there was a need to explore how successful models in the fields of education, health, organic farming and employment devised by different local bodies could “be utilised in a better way by customising them in line with different geographical conditions”.
“Our goal is to evolve a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all the panchayati raj institutions and other local bodies of the country after a comprehensive discussion. It is our responsibility to make a collective effort to make democracy strong, transparent and accountable,” the Speaker said.
Talking to reporters, he said the Budget Session will reconvene on March 8, and continue till April 8.
He said the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha saw 125 per cent productivity and 35 bills were passed, the second session saw 115 per cent productivity and 28 bills were passed, and in the third session, the productivity was 117 per cent.
In the fourth session, which was held during the pandemic, he said all members participated in the proceedings of the House fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities.
During his two-day visit to Meghalaya, Mr Birla also addressed the members of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)