Enthralled audience after she spoke extensively in Konkani
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Young people today associate Parliament and legislators with disturbances, disruptions and low productivity and question the relevance of these institutions, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar said, as she spoke extensively in Konkani, leaving the audience at the Golden Jubilee of the State Legislative Assembly function enthralled and evoking applause.
Kumar, who was the chief guest at the function at Kala Academy, here, said that it was increasingly disturbing that the youth of today look upon the country’s highest decision making body with scorn. “It disturbs me to watch our youth getting increasingly disillusioned with the elected representatives and legislatures. They have questioned the very relevance of these institutions. This is indeed worrisome,” she said adding that parliamentarians and legislators of today would need to bridge the trust deficit. The country’s first lady speaker, who has had to deal with unruly MPs making it difficulty for the House to transact much business on several occasions, found support from unlikely quarters in the form of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who wondered aloud in his speech how “Madam Speaker could control a house of 540 members when the speaker of Goa assembly found it difficult to deal with 40 members.”
Parrikar also said that he was concerned by the dwindling quality among legislators, legislation and debates he has witnessed over the last 18 years that he has been sitting in the house as an elected member from Panjim. Parrikar also opined that the “supremacy of legislature is being eroded”.
“Legislature is not the first among equals… It is supreme among the four pillars of democracy,” Parrikar said questioning, in as many words, how a court can decide something that is a matter of legislation.
Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo too said that the “legislature cannot be effective in an atmosphere of public scorn. Public opinion is stronger than legislature,” adding that the people’s demands of accountability and transparency were increasing.
The function which witnessed the felicitation of the four surviving members of the first legislative assembly of the Union territory of Goa Daman and Diu – MGP Minister Atchut Usgaonkar, MGP’s MLA Gajanan Raikar, UG MLA Teotonio Pereira and Independent Mohammed Ali Jivani. Ten women members of the assembly over the last 50 years including current Environment Minister Alina Saldanha, current MLA Jennifer Monserrate, Victoria Fernandes, Shashikala Kakodkar, Sangita Parab, Phyllis Faria, Fatima D’Sa, Farrel Furtado and Nirmala Sawant were felicitated.
While several of those who were felicitated could barely walk to the stage, the peppier ones like former St Cruz MLA Victoria Fernandes blew kisses to the audience and gestured blessings to all those assembled. Former MLA Farrel Furtado threw a tantrum after the compère forgot to call out her name during the felicitation.
The function was attended by members present and past, cutting across party lines, including Speaker Rajendra Arlekar, Deputy Speaker Anant Shet, Deputy Chief Minister Francisco D’Souza, and Leader of Opposition Pratapsing Rane all of whom were seated on
the dais.
