‘Need to increase attendance in legislatures’

Addressing the media at the conclusion,Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said,“Ten recommendations have been made in this conference. One of the most important recommendations was to convert All India Whips’ Conference (AIWC) into an institutional body so as to ensure that the recommendations given during these conferences are properly implemented. The members also noted that while many states have implemented the recommendations of the 14th AIWC,some states are yet to file their response.”

Bansal said that the members also expressed concern over the decline in the number of sittings of legislative bodies.

He further said that all the delegates were unanimous that proper decorum and discipline should be maintained in the legislatures and it should be ensured by all the parties that there is no disruption in the proceedings. “No development should lead to the dispensing of the Question Hour,” he added.

The delegates recommended that chief whips,whips as well as other members of the parties in Parliament and state legislators should be provided periodic training on emerging issues such as climate change,as most of them are not equipped to take part in such discussions. The members also recommended that whips should be frequently sent on study tours both within the country as well as abroad to study the institutions at other places,he said.

Other recommendations include the expansion of Youth Parliament Competitions to include rural areas and beyond schools. The Union Minister said the delegates also recommended provision of facilities,especially secretarial assistance,to the whips. The delegates also recommended enhancement in the facilities and the honorarium being provided to members of legislatures.