New Delhi: Civil society activists yesterday appealed to parliamentarians to allow the houses to function for the passage of important pending bills.
“We appeal to our representatives in parliament to ensure that there is no further disruption of proceedings and that important pending bills are immediately and conclusively debated,” said a joint statement by civil society organisations. “We are extremely concerned about the danger of lapsing of a large number of very critical bills.”
The representatives made a special appeal to MPs from Andhra Pradesh who have constantly disrupted parliament over the Telangana issue.
They asked the MPs to raise the issue in a manner that “does not deprive millions of Indians justice and relief that parliament alone can deliver to them”.
“While we appreciate that disrupting parliamentary proceedings is a legitimate form of dissent, yet the prevailing level of disruption inevitably promotes, among the people, disenchantment and frustration with democratic processes and institutions,” the statement said.
“The consequent erosion of respect for democratic institutions concerns us immensely as it does not bode well for the future of India,” it added.
DMK’s state meet begins in Tiruchirappalli
Chennai: The DMK’s two-day state conference started in Tiruchirappalli yesterday with president M Karunanidhi hoisting the party flag on a 90-foot flag post — the height intended to signify his age. Karunanidhi would turn 90 years of age this June.
However the flag post was named after K N Ramajayam who was murdered a couple of years ago. He was the brother of DMK leader K N Nehru.
The entrance to the conference venue was designed like Delhi’s Red Fort while the dais was modelled like parliament. DMK leaders and cadres in large numbers have assembled in Tiruchirappalli — around 350km from here — to attend the conference.
IANS
