Birla made this statement after inaugurating the two-day 8th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (India Region) Conference at Assam Legislative Assembly here. Citing that the primary responsibility of the legislature is to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people, Birla said, “Therefore, it is important that laws should be made after thorough debate and discussions incorporating the needs of the aspirational sections of the society.” Calling for active participation of the youth and women in democratic processes, the Speaker said, “Democratic institutions from Panchayat to Parliament, should keep the youth and women at the centre of policy making. This will ensure greater accountability of the Executive.” “Youth’s energy, ability, confidence, technical knowledge and innovation skills will strengthen democracy. The ideas and visions of the youth should be used to make administration transparent and accountable,” he said. Birla also stressed that lawmakers should voice the concerns of aspirational sections of society and debate on issues of their welfare on the floor of the legislatures. Our policies and programmes should be in the direction of achieving the goals set by the founding fathers of the Constitution, he added. Stating that vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his comprehensive action on education, health, infrastructure and other areas are remarkable steps in this direction, Birla called for active participation and discussion by people’s representatives for robust and people centric policy making. Acting Chairperson of CPA, Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, UK, enumerated several path breaking initiatives of CPA and hoped that the deliberations at the Conference will help the entire Commonwealth to respond to the challenges being faced by them in a more effective manner. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary also spoke on the occasion. “Democracy and democratic values are integral parts of the Indian way of life. Democratic institutions are flourishing in India since ancient times and our reforms exemplified the true democratic values and traditions which continued in our society ever since,” Sarma said. Daimary said that the Conference will give a boost to the state Assembly in discharging its democratic responsibilities in a more effective manner. DS SY 1927