New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday inaugurate a meeting of the National presiding officers to be held in Shimla on November 17 and November 18 to commemorate the centennial year of the All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC), the 82nd edition of the AIPOC, said Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will preside over the conference. The Conference will be attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the presiding officers of all the States and Union Territories, added the Lok Sabha speaker.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will also participate in the meeting. Along with this, many Union ministers will also participate in it. The Governor of Himachal Pradesh will conclude the conference, he added.
"In the meeting, the ways of empowering the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council would be discussed," said Birla.
Speaking about the anti-defection law and the role of the presiding officers in it, he said, "It was discussed in the Dehradun session that the authority of the presiding officers should be limited in the anti-defection law." "In such a situation, this issue will be discussed again in this conference and if any changes are required to be made in the law," added Birla.
He further said that the rights and responsibilities of the presiding officers will be discussed extensively in this conference.
Birla said, "I hope, from the Shimla Conference, that in coming times, we will strengthen the democratic institutions of the country and prepare an action plan for 100 years in the Conference of Presiding Officers. During this conference, we will formulate an action plan to deal with the challenges that lie ahead of us over the course of 100 years".
Responding to a query related to the construction of the new Parliament House, he said, "The construction of the new Parliament House is going on as per the schedule and its construction will be completed within the stipulated time. It was trailing 17 days earlier due to Covid. We will consider the construction work of Parliament House under the rules of pollution. And we will not allow pollution to increase in the Parliament premises".
The Prime Minister will address the inaugural session of the 82nd All India Presiding Officers' Conference on November 17, 2021, at 10 am via video conferencing, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said on Monday.
The All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC), the apex body of the Legislatures in India, is celebrating its hundred years in 2021. To commemorate the centennial year of AIPOC, the 82nd edition of the All India Presiding Officers' Conference will be held in Shimla on November 17-18 2021. The first Conference was also held in Shimla in 1921.
