New Delhi; 23 July : President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Speaker of the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr. Tulia Ackson, leading a Parliamentary delegation, called on Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla at Parliament House Complex, today.
At the outset, Shri Birla extended a warm welcome to the delegation on behalf of the Parliament of India and the Indian people. Recalling his brief interaction with the IPU President on the sidelines of the recently concluded BRICS Conference, he expressed joy at being able to welcome her to the Parliament of India to witness firsthand the proceedings of the Budget Session. He informed that the Budget Session is one of the most critical Sessions of our Parliament, where the government’s financial proposals are meticulously reviewed, debated, and approved by the House.
Speaking about the new building of Parliament, he informed the delegation that it presented a microcosm of India encapsulating the arts, crafts, culture, music and history of India. It was also a state of the art building having the latest technology while being eco-friendly. Observing that it is an embodiment of the hopes and aspirations of a billion plus Indians, he said that new Parliament House, constructed last year has already witnessed the passing of several significant laws, including the landmark Women’s Reservation Bill (Naari Shaki Vandan), which aims to enhance women’s leadership roles. He further emphasized that while this building stands as a testament to our evolving legislative progress, the old Parliament House holds a legacy of monumental laws that have shaped the socio-economic fabric of our nation.
Speaking on the Indian General elections , Shri Birla , informed the delegation that India, the world’s largest democracy, celebrates elections as a grand festival. With an estimated one billion voters, the recent general elections saw the participation of approximately 650 million people, Shri Birla informed. The Speaker also stated that our Constitution ensures every citizen’s right to vote, regardless of their region or community and go to great lengths to ensure that no voter is left behind, establishing polling stations even for a single voter if necessary.
Shri Birla emphasized that India and Tanzania share a long-standing and friendly relationship, and hoped that the Visit of Dr Ackson would serve to strengthen the relations further . With an outlook to enhance parliamentary cooperation between India and Tanzania, Shri Birla felt that regular exchanges of parliamentary delegations and ongoing discussions on common interests were vital. He also proposed the establishment of Zonal Training Centres for Parliamentary Studies, Training, and Capacity Building to support democratic institutions globally and advocated the services of PRIDE to serve as a Zonal Training Centre for this purpose.
Discussing Dr Ackson’s role as the President of IPU ,Shri Birla hoped that through the IPU, we would be able to make democratic institutions more meaningful worldwide. He stressed on the need to connect global parliaments and share best practices contribute significantly to creating a model parliamentary system.
