Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29 -- Expressing anguish over the decline in number of sittings of legislatures and the disruptive behaviour of a section of members in legislative bodies, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today urged lawmakers of the country to rise above party lines on issues of national interest.
Stating that decline in the level of discussion and dialogue in legislatures is a matter of concern, Birla, while inaugurating the two-day National Conference of Chairpersons of Committees of Parliament and State Legislatures on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Bhubaneswar, reaffirmed "the timeless vision of the Constitution", and underlined that "social justice and equality of opportunity are not only the defining features of...