People were demanding one country, one constitution for long:

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday lauded the Union government's decision to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, saying the people of the country were demanding "one nation, one constitution" for long.

A substantial discussion was held on the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Parliament, he said, speaking to reporters here.

"A substantial discussion and subsequent division of votes took place....A good law was enacted on the basis of this decision," Birla said.

"The people have been demanding one nation, one constitution for years," he said.

With the abrogation of Article 370, the Indian Constitution became applicable to Jammu and Kashmir in its entirety.

 

Asked about the controversy over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement about violence in Kashmir which Pakistan mentioned in its plea to the United Nations, Birla said, "The efforts are made for building a consensus on every bill introduced by the government in the Lok Sabha, because every member has freedom of expression.

"This is the beauty of democracy because all parties, ruling and opposition, remain present in the house," he said, without naming any leader.

Referring to the conference of Speakers of state assemblies and chairmen of legislative councils held in New Delhi on Wednesday, Birla said efforts have been started to make these legislative bodies more accountable to people.

Expressing concern over sessions of state legislatures getting shorter, the Lok Sabha Speaker said, "The duration of the sessions of assemblies should be increased. The members should have more time and opportunities to speak.

"It has been decided, collectively, that two committees of speakers of assemblies and chairmen of councils will be formed," he said.

"These committees will hold discussions with all stakeholders and prepare a blueprint for creating a code of conduct, so that sessions of the legislative bodies in the states could be run for a longer time," Birla said.