SHILLONG: With an objective to make the newly elected MLAs in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly familiar with the proceedings and conduct of Business in the House, a two-day orientation programme for MLAs began here in the Assembly on Thursday.
The two-day training is being conducted by the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST), Lok Sabha.
Speaking at the inaugural function, Raghunandan Sharma, advisor of the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training said that policy makers from across the globe used to come to India to learn the Indian democracy while mentioning that people expected their MLAs to remain in constant touch and listen to their grievances
Making a clarion call to the MLAs to come prepared in the Assembly when the House is in session to enrich the debates , he said what MLAs spoke was more important than how long did they speak.
He also stressed on the need for young MLAs to follow senior MLAs as he believed that the experience of senior MLAs would be useful for guiding the young MLAs.
Earlier, the Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training was conducting such orientation programme for the MLAs in New Delhi but now the Bureau was visiting the respective state for the orientation of the MLAs to understand the local problems.
Deputy Speaker, Timothy D Shira who was also present on the occasion said that the orientation programme will enhance the efficiency of the members of the house.
Echoing similar views, Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma who was also present on the occasion maintained that that the legislation and proceedings of Assembly was not easy and hence basic orientation was required for the MLAs
“ We need to be productive and the bottom line is we should have quality discussion,” he said.
Urging the MLAs to do their homework before they speak in the Assembly, Chief Minister also advised the MLAs to read a lot be it policies or any other topic while underling the importance of maintaining discipline by the MLAs .
The two-day orientation programme for the MLAs of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly will also have a session each on presentation of Budget speech and MLA schemes.
