Blurb: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will launch a two-day programme to strengthen legislative knowledge among newly-elected lawmakers.
New Delhi
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is scheduled to inaugurate a two-day orientation programme for newly elected members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in Kolkata on Friday.
The initiative is aimed at equipping legislators with a deeper understanding of parliamentary practices, legislative procedures, and democratic governance to help them perform their responsibilities more effectively.
The programme is being organised by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies, functioning under the Lok Sabha Secretariat, in collaboration with the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. According to an official statement issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the orientation has been specially designed to familiarise first-time legislators with the functioning of legislative institutions and the responsibilities associated with public office.
The event is expected to be attended by several prominent political leaders and parliamentary dignitaries. Among those scheduled to participate in the inaugural session are Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee, and other senior public representatives.
The inaugural ceremony will also feature a welcome address by West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose. The Vote of Thanks will be delivered by the state’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Shankar Ghosh, marking the formal commencement of the training programme.
According to the organisers, the orientation seeks to introduce legislators to the various dimensions of parliamentary and legislative functioning. Participants will receive detailed guidance on committee systems, financial oversight mechanisms, parliamentary privileges, legislative ethics, and the increasing use of digital technologies in legislative institutions across the country.
A key objective of the programme is to strengthen lawmakers’ understanding of parliamentary traditions while encouraging greater effectiveness in legislative debates, committee participation, and constituency representation. The organisers believe such training programmes contribute significantly to improving the overall quality of legislative functioning and democratic governance.
The two-day schedule includes a series of technical sessions covering a broad range of subjects relevant to elected representatives. Topics include effective legislative practices, customs and conventions observed in legislative bodies, parliamentary etiquette, and methods for ensuring executive accountability through questions, discussions, and other procedural mechanisms available to legislators.
The sessions will be conducted by experienced Presiding Officers of various State Legislatures, Members of Parliament, constitutional experts, and senior parliamentary practitioners from across the country.
