Somnath Chatterjee favours right to recall

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Saturday said he was personally in favour of "right to recall" system in our democracy, as the people were the ultimate judges to decide the performance of their representatives.

"But, it is not such an easy thing to be resolved in our parliamentary democracy as all the political parties have to arrive at a consensus, which may be a difficult task," he added.

Speaking to media persons in Hyderabad, Chatterjee said it was the duty of the elected representatives to fulfill the ambitions of their voters and reminded that they should resolve the issues by meaningful debates only.

Despite many shortfalls, India was in the forefront among other developing countries by virtue of the great parliamentary democracy system prevailing in Hyderabad.

He also urged the media to concentrate more on useful debates related to public issues and "take the parliament to the people." He felt that the performance and the functioning of the parliament as well as its members would improve if people who elected their representatives to voice their grievances watched the parliamentary proceedings regularly."

Maintenance of decency and decorum of the House is not merely the responsibility of the Speaker, but of all the political parties and their members," he observed.

The speaker said that the winter session of the Parliament would commence on November 20 and end by December 2. He said that he would convene an all-party meeting to discuss various subjects for inclusion in the agenda. He said that Women's Reservation Bill was one among other important issues to be debated during the winter session.

Asked about sting operations by electronic media, he said that it would be permissible to an extent when public interest was involved. However, he would not favour "the cameras entering into the bed rooms of individuals."