By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Nov. 28: Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota has said that marginalised and minority groups should be mainstreamed to consolidate democracy and do away with exclusion.

He said so while addressing today the 143^rd assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) being held in Madrid, Spain.

Observing that Democracy is the latest form of rule which gives roles to people in formulating national policies in practice as far as possible and it is used as most liked system, Speaker Sapkota made it a point that democracy is not free from challenges.

He noted that wrong information has weakened people's confidence in political institutions and that as such ill intended and misleading information reach to the people quickly due to social networking sites and other means of communications ultimately pose threat to democracy and people's ability to see what is good and bad.

Putting forth his views on 'Contemporary challenges of democracy: victory over exclusion and building communities' Speaker Sapkota said, "Exclusion is not good as it invites anger and hate, which is not good for democracy. Therefore, those excluded must be included in the decision making process so that the marginalised and minorities are brought to the mainstream of national life".

"Parliament is a lively feature of democracy, where people can change their rulers in a peaceful manner and where people's representatives can ensure justice and fairness to the weakened classes and thus earn confidence and respect," he said, adding, "If this does not happen, people doubt whether democratic system can work for their interest."

Speaker Sapkota shared his belief that democracy functions and it should be made functional for people's interest and that parliamentarians have the responsibility to strengthen people's confidence in democracy.

He said Nepal's constitution which was promulgated by the Constituent Assembly in 2015 has embraced fundamentals of participatory and inclusive democracy.

"Governance system of all three tiers has embraced the philosophy of inclusive democracy," he said, "Presently, women representation in the Federal Parliament is a third while it is 41 per cent in the provincial and local levels."

Noting that the IPU is a unique forum that brings together lawmakers from around the world for holding discussion on current issues, Speaker Sapkota shared his belief that IPU will help political leadership to build a just society.