‘Parliament should be a place for constructive debates’
President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday said the image of Parliament in the public mind should be one where debates and discussions take place with a view to find an outcome through a constructive and cooperative approach. The functioning of Parliament of the world’s largest democracy must meet “exacting standards” to set an example for the rest of the world.
Ms Patil said the people’s faith in democratic institutions rest upon how effectively the elected representatives perform and how attentive they are to issues that impact public welfare. “This is an enormous responsibility and Parliamentarians must work to meet the expectations of the people” she viewed. She was speaking after conferring the Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards to former Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi, senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh and the BJP veteran Dr Murli Manohar Joshi for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.
A galaxy of leaders, including vice president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and several Union ministers, MPs attended the function besides the former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Lok Sabha Pranab Mukherjee were not present at the function at which Congress MP Deepa Das Munshi accepted the award on behalf of her husband who has been seriously ill for quite some time.
Viewing that the successful functioning of Parliament is a joint responsibility of both the government and the Opposition, the President said Parliament must evolve and reform to meet emerging challenges that often require fresh thinking and innovative ideas.
Mr Ansari lamented that oratorical skills were replaced by lung power and discussion was sought to be drowned in noise and disruption. “It creates momentary excitement, but is no substitute for persuasion.
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