<h1>Speaker warns fading debate and decorum; urges cross-party committees to review budgets and empower SC/ST communities</h1> The Lok Sabha Speaker warned that diminishing debate and decorum in Parliament and state legislatures has raised concerns, and highlighted the growing importance of cross-party parliamentary committees that operate above partisan divides. At a national conference on committees for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes welfare, the Speaker urged these panels to scrutinise budgets, assess scheme efficacy, recommend new or revised programmes, and promote education and socio-economic empowerment of disadvantaged communities. The remarks came after a near-washout of the recent Monsoon session due to sustained opposition protests over an electoral-roll review in a state. Government ministers reiterated that education remains insufficiently inclusive despite progress.