Why in news:

• In a first, 200 schoolchildren from 15 states have carried out assembly proceedings in a special session of Rajasthan State Assembly.
• The event was also meant to mark the birth anniversary of the nation’s first Prime Minister- Jawaharlal Nehru.

Key Highlights:

• The children, divided into ruling party and opposition, discussed and debated on 18 issues that the state is currently facing.
• Following all the assembly protocols, the speaker, chief minister, council of ministers and leader of opposition participated in the question hour in the presence of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, CM Ashok Gehlot and speaker of state assembly CP Joshi.
• Children who performed the role of the speaker, CM, ministers and MLAs seated on the respective designated seats/benches allotted to the members in the assembly.
• During the question hour, the members raised issues like shortage of fertilisers, school fees issue, the impact of Covid on learning outcomes, the power crises due to shortage of coal, environmental hazards in the state, rising crime against women, child labour, rise in dengue cases etc.
• The questions were to the point, terse, pithy, loaded with real facts in a parliamentary language using relevant sections and acts.
• A member Divyanshi Choudhary raised year-wise data on the number of rape cases, pending cases and prosecution in these cases in the past three years.
• The response given to her was quoted from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report followed by efforts taken by the government.
• One of the children conducting the affairs- Jhanvi Sharma presided over as speaker mesmerised everyone in the assembly with her confidence, delivery and know-how of the assembly proceedings.
• She read out questions, warned the members not to disrupt and introduced an adjournment motion.
• The element of pandemonium in the assembly was also performed by the leader of opposition Vaibhavee Goyal to give a realistic fervour to the proeedings.
• Goyal abruptly called for a walkout during a reply on frequent ban on the internet by government calling it harassment of students and the general public.
• Another important issue raised was the need for a campaign to create awareness of children on forest, nature, wildlife and environment.
• Over 5000 students submitted their video for the contest against the 200 shortlisted in the age group of 6-12 years by the organizers.
  
  
   

Relevance of the exercise:

• People often complain about government and administration of being insensitive to the needs and aspirations of people and that the higher echelons of governance are oblivious to the ground realities and the real-world problems that citizens face in their daily lives.
• But at the same time, it is also true that people themselves tend to stay away from the political and administrative spheres as far as possible and keep expecting ‘someone else’ to take care of the discrepancies that ail the system.
• Awareness generation among common people about the powers and responsibilities of government and their own rights and responsibilities thereof is an integral part of a democratic polity.
• It is indeed a commendable initiative to infuse such democratic spirit in children. Awareness of the state of affairs and democratic proceedings at an early stage of their lives will go a long way in making sure that these children go on to become responsible citizens and active participants in Indian democracy.
• Such events, therefore,  should not be held as one off affair but should be included in the legislative proceedings both at the centre and state levels on a regular basis.