Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has said Parliamentarians have to take the lead in evolving a national consensus for empowering the poor by displaying the political will to democratise and decentralise at a faster pace. She was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Asian Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Colombo today. Meira Kumar, who is also the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), was the Guest of Honour at the Conference inaugurated a short while ago by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister D M Jayaratne. The Lok Sabha Speaker underlined that the inclusive growth has been hampered by several problems like poverty, food and water shortage, health, environmental degradation, climate change and human rights abuse. She also referred to the challenges arising out of terrorism and emphasised to achieve inclusive development without compromising peace and security in the region. The 3rd CPA Asia Regional Conference is extremely relevant, she said as it seeks to address some of these concerns in its Plenary Sessions. Later in the evening, Kumar is scheduled to meet the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Prime Minister D M Jayaratne.