Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Ethics on Thursday discussed measures to strengthen ethical standards in public life and decided to formulate a comprehensive code of conduct for legislators.
The meeting, chaired by MLA Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, was attended by legislators Salman Sagar, Peerzada Feroze, Kuldeep Raj Dubey, Satish Kumar, Surinder Kumar and Arvind Gupta, along with senior officers of the Assembly Secretariat, according to an official statement.
The committee deliberated on creating a framework to enhance public confidence in parliamentary institutions and emphasised the need to uphold high ethical standards and values in the conduct of elected representatives.
It resolved to prepare a comprehensive code of conduct to serve as an institutional guide for members of the Legislative Assembly.
The committee also decided to organise an orientation programme for MLAs, which will include a comparative study of the functioning of ethics committees in other State Legislatures as well as in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
According to the statement, the committee also proposed study visits to examine best practices followed by similar institutions outside the Union Territory.
To broaden consultations on ethical standards, the committee proposed engaging with academic and civic institutions, including universities, to seek inputs on public expectations and evolving benchmarks for the conduct of public representatives within and outside the House.
