Speaker appeals for cooperation in running the House

New Delhi, July 24 (UNI) Perturbed over continuous disruptions in the previous sessions, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today appealed to all the members on the opening day of the Monsoon Session to cooperate in running the House and reiterated that the Chair would not hinder discussion on any important issue.

Reminding the members that the Lok Sabha was not only the highest but the only forum on which the Constitution had conferred the authority to enforce the accountability of the Union Council of Ministers, he asked them to discharge that authority with a sense of responsibility and with a view to seeking redress of the peoples' grievances.

''There is no alternative to nor there can be any substitute of informed and structured debate, and we should utilise every minute of available time for the sake of our people,'' he said.

''I wish to reiterate that it has never been the intention of the Chair to hamper or hinder any issue of importance to be discussed or debated on the floor of the House.'' He said the new Lok Sabha channel, which will now be run as a unit of the Lok Sabha, would help bridgs the gulf, if any, between the august House and the people of the Country.

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