By Andalib Akhter
Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar today said the Public representatives were supposed to be role models for the people and that they have the responsibility to address the challenges faced by the people. Mr Dhankhar underscored the paramount role of public representatives to ensure executive accountability and fiscal discipline in governance.
Delivering the valedictory address at the two-day Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Conference, India region in Udaipur rajasthan, Mr Dhankhar said that both the Government and the Opposition play indispensable roles within the framework of parliamentary democracy, he added that the Parliament where the government and the opposition work in tandem is in interest of the nation and the synergy between the Government and the Opposition is pivotal. The prime role of the Opposition in legislature is to generate accountability and transparency.
He said that the CPA India Region is dedicated to safeguarding the bedrock principles of democracy and advancing the values that its parent Association tirelessly strives to uphold. He hoped that the two day deliberations must have been a rewarding experience for the participants.
Expressing deep anguish, the Vice President and Chairman, Rajya Sabha said that the institution of Public Representatives is under severe strain and the temples of democracy which are meant for dialogue, deliberation, debate and discussion are these days the hotbeds of disturbance and disruptions. He further emphasized that a dysfunctional legislature has the potential to undermine democratic values and would impede blossoming of democracy.
Mr Dhankhar stated that out of the three organs of the Government – the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive – the Judiciary and the Executive act in harmony, while the Legislature, which is supreme, has become vulnerable during these days. Disorder in the temples of democracy has become a new norm. He further stated that the Parliament alone is the repository of will of the people and effective and proactive functioning of the legislature is the safest guarantee to blossoming of democratic values.
Quoting Dr BR Ambedkar, he said “Unless we, in Parliament, realise our responsibilities and shoulder the task of looking after the welfare and good of the people….I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that this Parliament will be treated by public outside with utter contempt”. Therefore, he said that we must all pledge to be alive to these prophetic concerns and cautions of the Founding Fathers of our Republic and retrieve the cliff hanging situation.