NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that doing one's duty should be the mantra for the country for the next 25 years as India heads towards centenary of its Independence, and this message should go out from its Parliament and state legislatures.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 82nd All India Presiding Officers' Conference on Wednesday via video conferencing, he also asserted that it is our legislatures' responsibility to be vigilant about any discordant voice about the country's unity and integrity.
It is our unity that preserves our diversity, he added.
The prime minister also pushed the idea of having a separate time for quality and healthy debates in legislatures which should be serious, dignified and devoid of political potshots at others.
With Parliament often witnessing disruptions over a variety of issues, Modi said conduct of lawmakers should be in line with Indian values.
Democracy is not merely a system in India but it is its nature, he added.
The All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC), the apex body of the Legislatures in India, is celebrating its 100th year in 2021.
Expressing concern over a decline in the number of sittings in legislative bodies and lack of discussion over law making, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday said some decisive measures need to be taken after consulting all political outfits to enhance dignity and prestige of legislative bodies.
Birla also called upon presiding officers to review the procedures and rules of legislative bodies to ensure that people's rights can be protected.
Addressing the All India Presiding Officers' Conference in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, Birla said a model document should be prepared for uniformity of laws and procedures in all legislative bodies.
"The decreasing number of meetings of the legislatures and the lack of discussion at the time of making laws are also a matter of concern for us. And that is why in the Azadi Ka Amrit festival of independence, with a collective resolve, we should prepare such a model document that when the hundred years of our independence are completed, there should be uniformity in the rules and procedures of all the legislatures and the working of the legislative bodies should be according to the hopes and aspirations of the people," he said.
Emphasising on the need to review the working of legislatures in the 100th year of AIPO, the speaker said, "We will have to take some decisive decisions after consulting all political parties, so that the dignity and prestige of the law making bodies can be enhanced further."
Pitching for changes in rules and procedures of legislative bodies, Birla said changes should be brought in the functioning of law making bodies, "so that they can be made the carriers of fulfilling the hopes and expectations of the people, and democracy in the country becomes stronger."
Underlining that the broader objective of law making bodies should be to protect the rights of the people, he said the role of public representatives should be strong, accountable and transparent.