Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 15
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 82nd All India Presiding Officers Conference in Shimla on November 17, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla said on Monday adding that the conference would dwell on the decay in the discipline and decorum of legislatures, which was a matter of concern and on the anti-defection law.
"The gradual decay in the discipline and decorum in the legislatures is a matter of concern and Shimla Conference would ponder over that," said the Lok Sabha speaker.
Referring to the discussions on this subject matter in the Presiding Officers Conference in 2001 and 2019, Birla emphasized the roles and responsibilities of the Members in the House in smooth conduct of the Business.
Regarding the Anti-Defection Law and concerns around defections, the Speaker said that a Committee had been constituted on this subject matter during the Presiding Officers' Conference in 2019 and it is likely that a detailed discussion on this report will be held in Shimla.
Birla said there was an urgent need to rationalize the powers and jurisdictions of Presiding Officers for putting in place a robust system for the implementation of Anti Defection Law.
Speaking on the financial autonomy of the State Legislatures, Birla informed that this matter assumes great significance in the functioning of legislative bodies and AIPOC has discussed the matter on several occasions.
AIPOC, the apex body of the Legislatures in India, is celebrating its hundred years in 2021.
A commemoration event of the centennial year of AIPOC, will be held in Shimla on November 17 and 18 with the PM set to inaugurate on Wednesday.
The first Conference was also held in Shimla in 1921.
Birla, chairman of AIPOC, said the conference was being held in Shimla for the seventh time after 1921, 1926, 1933, 1939, 1976, and 1997.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur will address the gathering at the inauguration.
Birla said the 82nd AIPOC will discuss a range of issues—Journey of a Century (Evaluation and the way forward) and Responsibility of Presiding Officers towards the Constitution, the House, and the People.
Birla said the Valedictory Session of the 82nd AIPOC will be held on Thursday with Governor of Himachal Pradesh Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to address.
Courtesy: Tribune News Service