Opening Statement by Shri Charnjit Singh Atwal, Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha at the 4th Conference of Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians
Hon'ble Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Charnjit Singh Atwal, addressed the opening session of the 4th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 29 March 2006.
Shri Atwal is leading a Parliamentary delegation from India that includes Members of Parliament Shri Prasanna Acharya, Dr. K. Malaisamy and Dr. Karan Singh Yadav, as well as Secretary General, Lok Sabha and other senior officials. After his arrival on 28 March 2006, he attended a reception hosted in his honour by High Commissioner Mrs. Nirupama Rao at India House. The reception was attended by senior Sri Lankan dignitaries including Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and Speaker, Sri Lankan Parliament W.J.M. Lokubandara.
In his opening remarks at the Conference on 29 March 2006, Shri Atwal recalled the establishment of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians in June 1992 and the last time the Association had met in Dhaka in 1999. He spoke at length on the role that a SAARC Parliamentarian needed to fulfil. He noted that the widespread poverty which continued to mark the SAARC region posed the most formidable development challenge for the region. He recalled the adoption of the Social Charter by the SAARC countries as an important landmark in the history of our regional cooperation. The Charter lays out a roadmap for regional cooperation in important areas such as poverty alleviation, health, education, women's empowerment, child development and youth mobilization. As elected representatives of the people, Parliamentarians must support and supplement the efforts being made by their respective governments. He also recalled in this context the South Asia Free Trade Agreement [SAFTA] which is to come into retrospective force from 1st January 2006.
Shri Atwal stressed that the people of the SAARC region were the real strength of the region and that this large human resource must be taken full advantage of by providing them with enabling conditions so that they can contribute to the prosperity of the region. Shri Atwal again emphasized that it is for the Parliamentarians to ensure that the Executive remained responsive and accountable to the people in the struggle against poverty.
The Deputy Speaker went on to highlight some important areas of Parliamentary interest for discussion at the Conference. Civil society plays an increasingly important role in raising issues and in generating awareness among the masses and the policymakers and must therefore be strengthened. Civil society has been engaged in the SAARC process: the SAARC Recognized Body status had been given to Associations of architects, journalists, chartered accountants, doctors, teachers and so many other professional associations.
Shri Atwal then spoke on the public duty and private interests of legislators. He stressed that the primary mission of legislators is to promote the welfare of the people and to never allow private interests to override public good. In the event of a conflict between the two, Members must give precedence to the public good. He outlined some of the mechanisms employed by the Indian Parliament to ensure that public good prevailed over private interests - every MP having a personal, pecuniary or direct interest in a matter before the House was obliged to declare the nature of that interest while taking part in the proceedings on that matter and to conscientiously judge the propriety of his voting on that matter.
Shri Atwal finally highlighted the importance of regular interaction among SAARC Parliamentarians. He said that regular interaction among MPs and exchange of best Parliamentary practices would also enhance the accountability of the Parliaments of the region. He noted that Members of Parliament were well-versed with the problems of the people and were better placed to provide inputs to the government on issues affecting the people. At the same time, Members could mould public opinion in favour of certain issues by virtue of the wide support base they enjoyed in their own constituencies. Thus, the Parliamentarians' Association served to strengthen people-to-people contacts and to promote mutual understanding, trust and friendship among the SAARC peoples. Shri Atwal ended by thanking the Hon'ble Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Mr. W.J.M. Lokubandara for the excellent arrangements made for the Conference.
March 29, 2006
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