AMN /
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that whips play a major role in making the parliamentary mechanism work to its potential either in the Parliament or State legislative assembly or council. He said that the Centre will release more funds to Members of Parliament (MPs) if the funds allocated to them for the local area development are utilized properly to meet the demands of people at the lower rung in the society.
Presiding over the two-day 17th All India Whip’s Conference which began in Visakhapatnam today he said MPs should assess the needs of the people in their respective constituencies especially at the village level in the areas of education, medical aid and cleanliness and sanitation.
Speaking on the occasion Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu stressed the need for more such conferences to clearly understand the parliamentary practices and evolve standards to strengthen the working institution of Parliamentary democracy. He opined that the practice of political parties going with their own agendas to the house is not good for democracy. He said on many occasions the members does not even bother to attend the house proceedings which he termed it as a bad practice.
While the major issues to be addressed will be running of a house, the conference will also study the guidelines laid down by the constitution and the practices that have to be adopted and also take a closer look at the deviations made to these guidelines and practices. There will also be a discussion on MP Local Area Development Scheme to ensure proper utilization and implementation of the scheme.
A compliance with the recommendations of earlier conference would also be looked into. The 16th whips conference held in Goa had suggested nine recommendations for better house management, better coordination among party members, setting aside one-day for private bills and resolutions, privileges, members’ training, number of working days of assembly in a year.
About 179 Whips from various state assemblies, legislative councils and the two houses of Parliament are taking part in the conference. The two-day conference will chalk out a detail plan to ensure smooth running of houses at the state and national levels respectively.