Om Birla lauds cooperative efforts of assemblies during COVID, says it helped the govt

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday, while addressing MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly, stated that amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Parliament and the State Legislatures worked in coordination and contributed to the efforts of the government. Elaborating on the challenges posed by the global pandemic in front of the legislative institutions, he said, "It is in such challenging times that our responsibility becomes more onerous. The people facing hardships look up to their legislature and MPs to find a solution to their problems."

Further highlighting the coordinated efforts of the  Parliament and the State Legislatures, Birla said that he was glad that the collective efforts helped in facing the challenge, and went on to call it the country's strength. He proposed to further strengthen the collective efforts and bring about more effectiveness. 

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Legislative institutions discharging duties with sincerity: Om Birla 

"We summoned the Parliament even in the midst of COVID-19 and sent a positive message to the people," said Birla, talking about the functioning of the Parliament. 

Touching upon the functioning of the State Legislative Assemblies, Birla said, "Your Legislative Assembly had also held its session in November despite Corona and had made meaningful effort to work in accordance with the hopes and aspirations of the people."

As per Birla, the functioning of the Parliament and the State Legislatures amid COVID-19 indicated that our legislative institutions are discharging their constitutional responsibilities with utmost sincerity. 

"Democracy can be strengthened only when all constitutional institutions work in tandem and coordinate with each other within their respective constitutional jurisdiction. All the institutions should complement each other," he added. 

Recalling the comprehensive discussion on this topic that took place at the Presiding Officers' Conference held on November 25- 26, 2020, Birla said that now, the resolutions adopted and the decisions taken, are being brought into operation.

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Raising constitutional awareness imperative: Om Birla 

Elaborating on the conference, he said, "We had read the Preamble to the Constitution in front of the Towering Statue of Unity of Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel on November 26, 2020, and had taken a pledge to organize special programs across the country to raise awareness about the Constitution, especially amongst the youth of the country."

Defining the objective to make the youth responsible towards the country, Birla said," We should always be driven by the spirit of Nation First and all our actions should reflect it. Only then we will be able to build a strong nation."

(With ANI inputs)

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