Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla who on Wednesday presented Parliamentary Excellence Awards at a function held in Madhya Pradesh Legislature premises in Bhopal said the stronger the opposition in a democracy, the more responsible the government will be.

Birla said that a strong opposition is essential in a democracy.

On this occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker presented Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla Memorial Best Minister Award, Sunderlal Patwa Best MLA Award, Jamuna Devi Memorial Excellent Journalism Award, Manikchand Vajpayee Outstanding Journalism Award: Pandit Kunjilal Dubey Memorial Best Officer Award, and Kh. K. Rangole Memorial Best Employee Award.

Speaking on the occasion, Birla said that Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly has a proud parliamentary history and its high parliamentary traditions have always given a new direction to the country and other States.

Remembering former Speakers and former leaders of the State Legislative Assembly, Birla said that their contributions have strengthened democracy and democratic institutions in the country.

Speaker of Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Girish Gautam; Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Members of Madhya Pradesh Legislature were present on the occasion.

Emphasizing that trust and confidence of the public in democratic institutions should increase further, Lok Sabha Speaker said that collective efforts are needed to strengthen the traditions and dignity of the Houses.

Expressing concern over declining dignity, decency, and decorum in legislatures, Birla said that such a trend is a matter of grave concern for all of us. Observing that there is an increasing tendency to disrupt Addresses of President and Governors, to boycott the Addresses, and to create a deadlock in the Houses, Birla said that this behavior is not conducive to our parliamentary tradition.

Speaking on the working of legislatures ensures accountability of the government, Birla said that it is necessary to make these institutions centres of constructive discussion and dialogue so that through these discussions and dialogue Governments could be held accountable.

The Speaker stressed that the Opposition should fix the accountability of the government to ensure transparency in administration. He said the stronger the opposition in a democracy, the more responsible the government will work. Birla said that a strong opposition is essential in a democracy.

Emphasizing that there should be wide discussion in the Houses while legislating laws and public representatives should highlight their points of view on the floor of the House, the Speaker suggested that the people for whom laws are made should also be consulted at a wider level. He specifically said that while making a law, we should also assess its impact so that a positive law could be enacted that benefits the people at large.

On accountability of ministers in the House, Shri Birla said that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House and therefore a minister should have comprehensive knowledge of his or her departments as well as all other departments of the government. He suggested that while answering questions or replying to a discussion in the House, ministers should put their point of view in the House from a broader and wider perspective.

Expressing concern over planned disruption of Houses, deadlocks, shouting slogans, and showing placards, Shri Birla said that such planned deadlocks in the Houses are not in accordance with our parliamentary conventions. He called upon the members to uphold the dignity of the House and rise to the expectations of people.

On the occasion, Birla presented Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla Smriti Best Minister Award to Dr. Narottam Mishra, Mr. Bhupendra Singh, and Mr. Jagdish Deora. He presented Shri Sunderlal Patwa Best MLA Award in Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly to Jhuma Solanki, Yashpal Sisodia, Jaivardhan Singh, and Bahadur Singh.

The Lok Sabha Speaker presented Smt Jamuna Devi Memorial Outstanding Journalism Award for Print Media to Rakesh Agnihotri and Dharmendra Paigwar. Similarly, the Shri Manikchand Vajpayee Award for Excellence in Journalism in the field of electronic media was presented to Praveen Dubey and Shefali Pandey.

Lok Sabha Speaker presented Shri Kunjilal Dubey Memorial Best Officer Award to Principal Secretary A P Singh; S Gaur, Rakesh Sole, and R . N Dubey. Praveen Janorkar, Dilaram Bhattarai, and Harbhavan Ahirwar were presented K K Rangole Memorial Best Employee Award.