Legislators are catalysts of development: Vice Prez

New Delhi: Stating that legislature is the central pillar of democratic governance, vice president Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday that legislatures are mandated with the task of catalyzing nation building by propelling socio-economic transformation.

Delivering the valedictory of the National Legislators conference, here, the vice president said that the ideal behaviour of the legislators is more important than ideology. Conduct of the legislators in the Legislature, constituency and governing bodies is equally important. Moreover, a self introspection by them on the work done by them on everyday basis is essential for self development.

Naidu said a good reading habit on the topics to be discussed in the Legislatures is useful to keep abreast and contribute to the deliberations on the developmental goals for the country. Moreover, accessibility to the people and touring in the constituency will help the legislators to understand and address their issues properly. He further suggested that legislators should be regular and punctual in the Legislatures.

He drew attention of the legislators to the growing perception of the people, about the Legislatures which is very important for the credibility and functioning of the important law making bodies. He cautioned that legislatures are meeting for very few days; time for deliberation and the number of legislations is steadily dwindling; quality of debate is declining; disruption of proceedings has come to replace the norms of deliberations and Members' attendance is thin as they are not present inside the Houses.

Presenting the closing remarks, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said development should be sustainable and we should have a continuous dialogue with all stakeholders, including at the grassroots level. She felt that development and electoral politics should be mixed with party politics. She suggested that legislators should not restrict development to aspirational districts only, but to all districts.

The conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.