Manmohan Singh calls for international cooperation for dealing with extremism

New Delhi, Jan 5 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today called for sustained international cooperation for effectively dealing with the growth of extremist ideologies across the globe.

Inaugurating the 20th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) here, Dr. Singh said: "The growth of extremist ideologies is threatening civilized existence everywhere. The proponents of such ideologies are challenging the tenets of democracy and representational politics by resorting to intimidation, terror and other manifestations of intolerance.

Dr. Manmohan Singh stressed the need that the parliament should respond to the everyday concerns of the common man and it should be the forum to articulate and address issues of his concern.

Dr. Manmohan Singh noted that with rise of growing number of regional and sub-regional parties; there was greater resonance within the political structure and this had brought the role of Speakers into sharp focus.

He said it was the duty of the Presiding Officers to ensure that due representation is given to voices of all sections of society in the Parliament.

Dr. Manmohan Singh further said that democracy had strengthened Indian polity and institutions and more than one million women representatives have been elected to the local bodies across the country.

He said, they were deepening the democracy and enriching the development process. He made it clear that if India is able to banish poverty in a generation, it will answer all the queries as to whether democracy can sustain rapid development and growth.

He also urged the international community that the crucial issue of climate change can be addressed only when a collective and cooperative approach based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibility is adopted by the world community.

He called for greater sense of fairness and justice in global approaches to dealing with the problem of climate change.

He referred to the meeting of the heads of the government of Commonwealth at Port of Spain.

"Under the Commonwealth umbrella, our effort should be to recognize each attempt at democratization, howsoever incipient, and encourage it to blossom. There is great diversity and a wealth of experience among the Commonwealth countries," he said.

"We should pool our experiences and expertise and extend a helping hand particularly to small states and countries that are trying to consolidate their democracies," he added.

More than 50 Speakers and the presiding officers are participating in the conference. (ANI)