Subhash Mahajan
Dharamshala – The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker, Kuldeep Singh Pathania, announced that the first Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region-II Conference will be held at Tapōvan, Dharamshala, on June 30 and July 1, marking a historic moment for the state.
This event follows in the footsteps of India’s first CPA Conference, held in Shimla in 1921, with its centenary celebrations also hosted there in 2021. Pathania, after reviewing preparations at the Assembly complex in Tapōvan, noted that this year’s conference will be a landmark occasion for the region.
The inauguration ceremony will take place on June 30, with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who also chairs the CPA India Region, presiding as the chief guest. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Harivansh, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, and Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar are among the key dignitaries scheduled to attend.
Presiding officers and delegates from various states, including Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, are expected to participate. Senior secretaries from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, including P.C. Mody and Utpal Kumar Singh, along with assembly vice-chairpersons, chief whips, and legislators from the participating states, will also be present.
The valedictory ceremony on July 1 at 3 PM will feature Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla as the chief guest. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and other senior leaders will also join the closing session.
Pathania confirmed that arrangements for guest accommodation and conference logistics are complete, with tight security measures in place. Only accredited media personnel, granted passes by the Assembly Secretariat, will be allowed to cover the inaugural and valedictory sessions. All other conference proceedings will remain closed to the press and public.
