Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla on Wednesday said that all public representatives should take pledge to ensure that the proceedings of the house are not interrupted even for a minute.

Speaking as a Chief Guest on the closing ceremony of two-day orientation programme for the training of all the Members of Legislative Assembly organized by Haryana Vidhan Sabha in association with Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat, he said discussion on various topics including budget estimates and suggestions before presenting the budget would enable the elected representatives to effectively put forth the aspirations of people before the government.

While expressing concern over the comparatively less sittings in the State Legislatures, he said that if this situation continues to happen, the public representative would not be able to discuss issues in the interest of people. In these circumstances, the step of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to increase the sittings of the House is praiseworthy.

He said that it is the public representatives who directly connect with the public and if the sittings are not increased, they would not be able to put forth their issues before the government in an effective manner. Quoting example, he said that in the 12th State Assembly only 56 sittings (approximately 10-12 sittings per year) held in five years,  which is a not good sign for a healthy democracy.

 He hoped that despite being a small House, the Haryana Vidhan Sabha would become a role model for other State Assemblies in the country in terms of constructive debates, uninterrupted proceedings and increase in the number of sittings. He said that all the public representatives should take pledge to ensure that the proceedings of the house are not interrupted even for a minute.