Srinagar, June 22 (IANS) Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Tuesday stressed that the credibility of legislatures and their members rests on the legislators’ performance in the house and how they utilise their position to help the people they represent.
Noting that legislators personify the collective thought and voice of the people they represent, she said: ‘The credibility of legislators and of legislative bodies, therefore, hinges entirely upon the performance of legislators in the house.’
Addressing a symposium on ‘Performance of the Legislators in the House – Ensuring Accountability to the People’ here, she asked the legislators to utilise their position in the parliamentary system of democracy to advance the general well being of the people they represent and redress their grievances.
The symposium was held in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly following the 75th conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in India.
The speaker said that an MP or a legislator takes an oath to faithfully discharge his duties before he takes his seat in the house and this pledge should be redeemed.
‘This sacred pledge he makes to the people who elect him and the legislature functions essentially for the purpose of redeeming this pledge,’ she said.
The speaker pointed out that the effectiveness of a legislature squarely depends on the ability and sincerity of its members.
‘If the legislators perform their duties sincerely, the entire nation will be proud of them but if their performance falls short of people’s expectations, the legislative body is bound to suffer from performance deficit, compromising its role as a law-making and oversight body,’ Meira Kumar said.
The speaker also emphasised the need to devise more innovative methods to open up a dialogue between the elected and the electors and provide the electorate with an opportunity to have a greater say in the functioning of their elected representatives, thereby enhancing their accountability.
Earlier, the conference was inaugurated by Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
