BHUBANESWAR: The BJP will conduct a two-day orientation-cum-training programme for its newly elected MLAs to 17th Odisha Legislative Assembly starting August 18. National president of BJP JP Nadda will inaugurate the programme to be held on the Assembly premises in the presence of speaker Surama Padhi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The newly-elected legislators will be guided by a group of senior leaders of the party including a few Union Ministers.
“As 57 out of 78 elected members of the party in the Assembly are first-time MLAs, they are not familiar with the intricacies of the parliamentary law, practices and procedures. The aim of the orientation programme is to familiarise them with the working of the Assembly,” said a senior leader.
The orientation programme is aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of the constitutional role of the lawmakers and make them familiar with operational mechanisms, parliamentary traditions, conventions and etiquette. The other objective is to educate the MLAs on ways to conduct themselves as members of ruling party both inside the Assembly and outside.
All the MLAs are expected to get familiar with the new legislations being enacted in the Parliament so that they can effectively participate in legislative business when such matters come up for legislation, said the party leader.
While such orientation programmes are usually conducted for newly-elected members of the Parliament after every general election, it is rarely practised in the Odisha Assembly. After BJP came to power in Centre in 2014, this has been become a regular practice in states where the party has formed its government, the sources said.
The BJP is planning to bring some veteran parliamentarians of the party to share their experience with the first-time members.
