- Atlanta - Boston - Chicago - DC Area - Houston - Jersey Area - Los Angeles - New York - SF Bay Area
- Earlier editions
- Astrology - Broadband - Cricket New! - Immigration - Money - Movies - New To US New! - Radio - Women - India News - US News
- Rediff Chat - Rediff Bol - Rediff Mail - Home Pages
Paritosh Parasher in Sydney
A delegation of speakers of Indian legislatures is in Australia to participate in one of the many Commonwealth events that are taking place ahead of the grouping's October heads of government meeting.
The 47th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association took off on September 4 in Canberra and will continue till the 17th of this month, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane in October.
A large Indian delegation is participating in this annual jamboree for the CPA, which boasts of Queen Elizabeth II as its patron. Australia's Prime Minister John Howard is the current vice-patron.
"We hope deliberations during the conference will have a long-lasting impact on the working of parliamentary democracy in Commonwealth member countries," P M Sayeed, deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, told the Indo-Asian News Service.
"We also expect to deliberate on ways to improve the political, social and economic well-being of the Commonwealth countries' populace," he added.
The veteran Indian parliamentarian was in Sydney to attend a reception hosted by the United Indian Associations for visiting dignitaries.
"I hope, and there is no reason for pessimism, that this conference will be successful," he said.
Sayeed led the Indian delegation of 18 speakers and other officials in Sydney in the absence of G M C Balayogi, speaker of the Lok Sabha, who is likely to join the group shortly in Melbourne for the 47th CPA plenary conference and general assembly.
Balayogi is also one of the four regional representatives from Asia. Charanjit Singh Atwal, speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly; Y Ramakrishnudu, minister for finance and legislative affairs, Andhra Pradesh, and Dhirubhai S Shah, speaker of the Gujarat assembly, are the other three representatives from India.
The UIA function in Sydney was marked by "intentional informality" as Indian leaders mixed with their Indo-Australian compatriots.
Indo-Asian News Service
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
