Lawmakers should focus on helping poorest of the poor: Meira Kumar ahead of legislators conference

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Lawmakers should focus on ensuring word to word implementation of the Constitution and help poorest of the poor, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said on Tuesday. She also hoped that the upcoming National Legislators' Conference (NLC), to be held in Mumbai from June 15 to 17, will provide a platform for leaders to rise above party lines and focus on larger issues. The conference will be attended by legislators from across India. Focused on leadership, democracy, governance and peace building, the programme is expected to be attended by over 2,000 MLAs and MLCs from almost all state assemblies and councils. "This is a unique initiative where representatives will get a chance to rise above party lines and discuss issues," Kumar, who will also attend the conference, said.

"We are together against six 'Cs' -- casteism, communalism, corruption, climate change, criminalisation, and colonial mindset," she said.

She asserted that legislators need to rise above party lines and ponder upon how they can help poorest of the poor.

"How do we take every word of our Constitution to the ground? Are we taking it to the rural areas, poor areas, 'jhuggi-jhopdi' (slum) colonies, rural income groups? We should see how the Constitution gets implemented..." she said.

"We do not have to criticise each other, or praise ourselves... we need to see how we can help the poorest of the poor," Kumar added.

Former home minister Shivraj Patil said the conference will facilitate a comparison in the way policies are made at different levels.

Sumitra Mahajan, also former Lok Sabha Speaker, said the legislators can discuss a range of issues, including stress management for them.

The conference, among other things, also aims at creating a permanent non-partisan institution of legislators at the national level for cross-learning and a channel for interaction between civil society and legislators.

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