Bengaluru (Karnatka) [India], September 13 : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday underscored the importance of reinforcing democratic institutions and enhancing public trust.
He expressed his view during media interaction at the 11th CPA India Region Conference in Bengaluru, which brought together representatives from 26 states.
This year's central theme was public trust in democratic institutions. Birla emphasised that building people's confidence in legislatures remains the foremost goal.
The LS Speaker said that democratic institutions must become the medium of fulfilling the aspirations of the people. All presiding officers shared their experiences and offered suggestions on how to strengthen these institutions. The conference has presented a "new perspective on development," serving as a vital platform for dialogue, exchange of ideas and collective resolutions on strengthening legislatures in India.
Talking to the media, Birla said that legislative bodies must not merely function as procedural institutions but should become "living instruments" of democracy that meet the aspirations of the people. In this context, discussions focused on challenges, reforms and innovations that can empower state legislatures to perform more effectively.
Birla informed that the deliberations led to several key resolutions aimed at reforming legislative functioning.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha said that disruptions in the Houses should be minimised and discussions should dominate the proceedings. Our first resolution is to restore people's trust by ensuring meaningful debates instead of disruptions.
He also noted that a consensus emerged that political parties must refrain from planned disruptions and instead use debates and dialogues to express differences. Differences of opinion must be expressed through constructive discussion, not sloganeering or disturbances and such practices strengthen parliamentary traditions.
Our effort is to ensure that Parliament and state legislatures become centres of meaningful discussion and debate, respecting all ideologies. Democracy must be expressed in words of agreement or disagreement, not through disorder, the LS Speaker added.
He further said that legislative councils, research wings and reference sections will be reinforced with the support of the Indian Parliament. Legislators will gain access to issue-specific databases, making debates more informed and substantive.
Birla informed that legislatures across the country will adopt advanced digital platforms to make proceedings, decisions, and legislative processes more transparent and accessible. A unified digital platform for Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and all state assemblies will be created so that citizens can access all legislative activities in one place.
State legislatures will create databases of past debates, experiences, and innovations to strengthen institutional memory. Several assemblies have already begun this work. Legislatures will also share their best practices to enrich democratic functioning, he added.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha said that another significant decision was the introduction of pre-legislative sessions to discuss the objectives and rationale of bills before their formal tabling in assemblies. This will allow more comprehensive deliberation later. Additionally, parliamentary committees will be empowered by including experts and stakeholders, ensuring well-informed policy outcomes.
Notably, the CPA is an international platform of nearly 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures. Om Birla serves as the ex officio Chairperson of the CPA India Region Executive Committee. India constitutes the 9th Region of the CPA, comprising 31 State and Union Territory branches.