New Delhi, 02 July (H.S.): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate a two-day orientation programme for newly elected members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in Kolkata on Friday, July 3.

According to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the primary objective of the programme is to familiarise first-time legislators with the nuances of legislative and parliamentary functioning, enabling them to perform their constitutional responsibilities more effectively.

The inaugural session will be attended by several dignitaries, including Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, the state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, and other distinguished guests.

The two-day programme will feature a series of technical sessions during which senior parliamentary experts, Members of Parliament, and Presiding Officers from various state legislatures will guide the newly elected legislators.

The sessions will focus on several key aspects of legislative functioning, including the qualities and responsibilities of an effective legislator; parliamentary traditions, conventions and etiquette; ensuring executive accountability through questions and other procedural devices available in legislatures; legislative and financial procedures, including the parliamentary committee system, the budgetary process, financial business and Private Members' Bills; as well as parliamentary privileges, ethical standards and training on digital initiatives such as the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA).

The orientation programme will conclude on Saturday, July 4, in the Assembly Chamber of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The valedictory session will be addressed by Governor C. V. Ananda Bose. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Haryana Governor Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh, and West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee will also address the concluding session.

The programme is being organised by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) of the Lok Sabha Secretariat in collaboration with the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar