"Subject Committees have important role in ensuring good governance"

Kerala Assembly Speaker G. Karthikeyan on Monday said that Subject Committees of Parliament and Legislatures had an important role in a democratic system because it ensured good governance and accountability of the Executive.

Inaugurating the 27th International Parliamentary Internship Programme, organised jointly by the Secretariats of Lok Sabha and the Kerala Legislature here, the Speaker said the State had an important role to play in a democracy. Corruption hindered good governance and undermined development and growth.

Giving an overview of the history of Kerala Legislature, Mr. Karthikeyan said the State Assembly was the first in the country to introduce the committee system. This was later adopted by the Indian Parliament. Kerala had also introduced several other committees including women and children, youth affairs and senior citizens. These committees had proved to be an efficient way to make the Executive accountable. The reports of the committees are discussed by the Legislature, he said while highlighting the efficacy of the Assembly’s Assurance Committee, which examined the assurances given by the Government to the house.

This is for the second time that Kerala Legislature is hosting the Internship programme. Over 40 delegates from Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Niger, Tanzania and Myanmar are participating in the three day programme. The programme has sessions on “Rules of Procedure and Privileges of the House”, “Legislative Process” and “Budgetary Process”.

Speaking on the occasion, P.D. Rajan, secretary of Kerala Legislative Assembly, said the internship programme was intended to provide practical training on parliamentary procedures. Deputy Speaker N. Sakhtan, referring to the pivotal role of people’s representatives in a democratic system, said Indian democracy had withstood the test of time because of its inherent qualities. The Kerala Legislative Assembly had made major contributions to parliamentary practices, including the introduction of the subject committee system.

Mr. Vijayakrishnan, Joint Secretary, Lok Sabha secretariat and Mr. M John Mathew, Joint Secretary (Training) Kerala Legislative Assembly, also spoke.