Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate a two-day Orientation Programme for newly-elected Members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Friday in Kolkata.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari; Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju; Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh; Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ritabrata Banerjee and other dignitaries will grace the inaugural session.
West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose will deliver the welcome address and Minister of Parliamentary Affair in the state government Shankar Ghosh will deliver the vote of thanks.
During the two-day Orientation Programme, a series of technical sessions have been designed to cover key aspects of legislative work, including ‘How to be an Effective Legislator; Customs, Conventions and Etiquettes for Members’; ‘Executive Accountability through Questions and other Procedural Devices in Legislatures’; ‘Committee System in Indian Parliament’; ‘Legislative Process including Private Members’ Bills’; ‘Financial Business and Budgetary Process in Parliament’; ‘Parliamentary Privileges and Ethics’; and the ‘National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA)’.
The sessions will be chaired and addressed by distinguished Presiding Officers of State Legislatures, Members of Parliament, constitutional experts and senior parliamentary practitioners from across the country. The programme is expected to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best practices while enhancing participants’ understanding of legislative procedures, parliamentary institutions and democratic governance.
The Orientation Programme will conclude on Saturday with the valedictory address of Governor R.N. Ravi in the historic Chamber of the state Assembly.
The programme is being organised by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE), Lok Sabha Secretariat, in collaboration with the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. It seeks to familiarise newly-elected Members with various aspects of parliamentary and legislative functioning, including committee systems, financial oversight, parliamentary privileges and emerging digital initiatives in legislatures.