PM Modi to virtually address assembly speakers' conference in Shimla on Nov 17

Shimla, Nov 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the All India Presiding Officers' Conference here on November 17, Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Vipin Parmar said on Wednesday. The conference would be held from November 16 to 19, he said.

The first such conference was organised in Shimla 100 years ago in 1921 from September 14 to 16, according to Parmar.

A total of six such conferences have already been held in Shimla so far. Four were held pre-independence in 1921, 1926, 1933, 1939 and two post-independence in 1976 and 1997, the speaker said. On November 16, the 58th Conference of Secretaries of State Assemblies and Councils will be held, he said.

The All India Presiding Officers' Conference will be formally inaugurated on November 17 at 10 am and the prime minister will virtually address it at 1.28 pm, he added. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Union minister Anurag Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will also attend the conference, he said.

Speakers, deputy speakers, principal secretaries, secretaries and a senior official of 36 state assemblies and councils along with their spouses will participate in the conference, he added. MPs from Himachal Pradesh and general secretaries of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will also take part in the conference, he said.

A total of 378 dignitaries, including 288 presiding officers, along with their spouses will come to Shimla to take part in the conference being held to discuss ways to strengthen democracy, he said. Special arrangements have also been made for the dignitaries to visit renowned places of Shimla, including Ridge, Scandal Point, Jakhoo and Kali Bari Temples, Kufri and Naldehra, he added.