The four-day-long All India Presiding Officers' Conference, which aims to facilitate a dialogue between the presiding officers of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and other legislative bodies in the country, commenced here today.
"This is the 78th edition of the annual conference. Gujarat is hosting this event for the third time. On the first day today, secretaries of different legislative bodies held a meeting," Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava told reporters while giving out details of the conference.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who is the chairperson of the conference, is scheduled to arrive here this evening to chair the Speakers' Conference to be held tomorrow and the day after, he added.
In the past, Gujarat had hosted this event in 1973 and in 1992.
"Around 350 delegates from across India, including Speakers and Deputy Speakers of Lok Sabha, Deputy Speaker of Rajya Sabha, Speakers and Deputy Speakers of all the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils as well as secretaries will take part in this annual event," he added.
"On January 22 and 23, there is a conference of Speakers and Deputy Speakers, which will be chaired by Sumitra Mahajan, while on January 24, all the delegates would be taken for a tour of important tourist destinations in Gujarat," he added.
Speakers and Deputy Speakers of 31 state Assemblies and seven state Councils are expected to remain present here, Vasava said.
"The main aim of this conference is to establish direct dialogue between the presiding officers of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and other legislative bodies of India. These delegates will engage in discussions to bring about positive changes in various legislative and parliamentary procedures," the Gujarat Assembly Speaker said.
Two subjects have been selected by the standing committee of Lok Sabha for this edition of conference.
"The first subject revolves around role of legislators in strengthening democratic institutions, while second subject is related to ensuring maximum attendance of MPs and MLAs during sessions as well as improving quality of discussions during sessions," Vasava said.
