The Deputy Speaker Ajaib Singh Bhatti represented the state of Punjab at 77th Conference of Presiding Officers of the Legislative Bodies of India, held at Dehradun (Uttarakhand). During the two-day conference, While participating in discussion on the topic of "Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy and Capacity Building through in-house Devices including Zero Hour", the Deputy Speaker said that the legislators can play an important role in further strengthening the parliamentary democracy. In democracy, the representatives of the people play a pivotal role in making new laws, approving budget and making decisions in the larger interests of the citizens of country.He said that elected representatives of the people use Zero Hour and Call Attention as a device to raise issues of public concerns related to their constituencies and states. Notably, in the zero hour, members can raise matters of great importance without prior notice, which helps to solve the issues being faced by the people.Over the years, Zero Hour has come to be known as an important ‘device’ to air grievances and reaffirm Parliament’s role as a platform for debate, so some guidelines or rules should be formulated to make it more productive and effective to save the time and energy of the house. During the Zero Hour, Only important issues of public interest should be allowed to be raised, Mr. Bhatti added.The Deputy Speaker said that there are always ideological differences between the political parties in democracy which should be respected. The diversity and differences of views among the legislators and the freedom to express these is the true spirit of democracy, which must be maintained at all costs.The conference was attended by Lok Sabha Speaker Mr. Om Birla, Governor of Uttarakhand Ms. Baby Rani Maurya, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat and Presiding Officers of almost all Legislative Assemblies of the country.