AMN / Gandhinagar
The two day Orientation Programme for Members of Gujarat Legislative Assembly at Gandhinagar, inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Mr Om Birla yesterday, concluded today with the valedictory address of Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Devvrat lauded the initiative of organising an Orientation Programme for newly elected Members of Gujarat Legislative Assembly and hoped that the insights and experiences shared during the Programme would equip Members with better understanding of legislative work.
Mr Devvrat informed the Members about the need for natural farming in India. Mentioning about the growing lifestyle diseases like cancer and heart attacks, he said that the main reason for the diseases is use of pesticides and insecticides in food cultivation. If the famers will continue to use chemicals like they are using now, there will be cancer explosion in India, said Mr Devvrat. Speaking about the difference between organic farming and natural farming, he said that whereas both chemical farming and organic farming are responsible for global warming and climate change, natural farming is the solution to these problems. Mr Devvrat urged the Members to educate farmers to adopt natural farming and not organic farming as replacement of chemical farming.
At the Valedictory Session Chief Minister Mr Bhupendra Patel said that all the MLAs elected to the 15th Legislative Assembly of Gujarat represent the will of the people, and they are the voice of citizens. Therefore, the Orientation Program will prove to be useful for all.
The Chief Minister underlined that being public representative, the behavior of the Members in the House and the manner in which they participate in discussions is always in the public eye. He added that he firmly believes that the guidance provided on various topics during the Orientation Program will be beneficial for all the Members in the future.
Earlier, welcoming the Governor, Speaker of Gujarat Legislative Assembly Mr Shankar Chaudhary mentioned about several initiatives have been taken in the Assembly for capacity building of the Members.
The Chief Minister and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly expressed hope that the benefits of the two day orientation programme will be reflected in the functioning of the legislators.
The Orientation Programme focused on promoting a deeper understanding and appreciation of the constitutional role and position of the Parliament as the supreme representative institution, familiarizing the Members more closely with the operational mechanisms, parliamentary traditions, conventions, and etiquette.
As part of the orientation programme, the Members of Gujarat Legislative Assembly were given training on ‘How to be an Effective Legislator?’; ‘Committee System and Parliamentary Questions’ ; ‘Budgetary Process’; ‘Legislative Process’; ‘India’s Presidency in G-20’; ‘Procedural Devices to Raise Matters of Urgent Public Importance in the House’ ; ‘Functioning of a Legislature: Do’s and Don’ts’ ; ‘Parliamentary Privileges and Ethics’; and ‘Importance of Constitutional Bodies in a Democracy’.
The Orientation Programme for the Members of Gujarat Legislature was organised by Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat in coordination with Gujarat Legislative Assembly Secretariat.