PM Modi to open presiding officers meet in Shimla tomorrow

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 82nd All India Presiding Officers Conference (AIPOC) in Shimla on November 17, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said today 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.

Jai Ram to address inaugural function

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to address inaugural function.

Himachal Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to address the valedictory session on Thursday.

“The gradual decay in the discipline and decorum in the legislatures is a matter of concern and Shimla Conference would ponder over that,” he said.

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 rationalise the powers and jurisdiction of the Presiding Officers for putting in place a robust system for the implementation of the Anti-Defection Law.

Speaking on the financial autonomy of the state legislatures, Birla informed that this matter assumes significance in the functioning of legislative bodies and AIPOC has discussed the matter on several occasions. AIPOC is celebrating its hundred years in 2021.

A commemoration event of the centennial year of the AIPOC will be held in Shimla on November 17and 18 with the PM set to inaugurate on Wednesday.

Birla, chairman of AIPOC, said the conference was being held in Shimla for the seventh time after 1921, 1926, 1933, 1939, 1976 and 1997. Birla said the AIPOC will discuss a range of issues — journey of a century and responsibility of presiding officers towards the Constitution, the House and the people.