Pathania: House panels key element of legislature

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Pathania today said legislative committees are the key elements of the legislature that enables detailed scrutiny, bipartisan consultation and effective oversight.

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Pathania today attended the Presiding Officers’ conference being held in Bhopal to review the committee system. Presiding Officers from six to seven states are appointed by the Chairman to review different subjects.

A committee of Presiding Officers from seven states has been constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for strengthening the committee system.

He said the concerned departments will have to be held accountable for providing misleading and vague answers of assembly questions along with better coordination with the ministers. “The recommendations made by the committees must be shared with the media for proper dissemination and suggestions must be sought from the general public for strengthening of the committee system,” he said.

Speaking on the role of Speakers as custodians of the legislature, he said regular meetings will have to be held with the chairpersons to review the progress and providing them guidance with regard to attendance, quality and punctuality. “In today’s digital world, where every information is available at the click of a mouse, there has to be responsibility and accountability,” he said.

He cited several challenges like low attendance, poor participation in discussions, lack of in-depth debate on issues, committees presenting their reports without any meaningful debate, biases due to party lines and inadequate replies to questions in the absence of fully trained committee officers. Not having a team that can prepare effective questionnaires for meetings are common challenges, he added.