PM Modi to open meet of Indian-origin lawmakers in Delhi on Jan 9

The prime minister will meet them at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the conference of parliamentarians of Indian origin (PIOs) from 23 countries here on January 9.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers an address via video conference in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)

Over 140 members of parliament and mayors will attend the meet at the Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra at Chanakyapuri, Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, secretary in charge of overseas Indian affairs, said. He said invitations were sent to 30 countries after getting feedback on diaspora presence there from various Indian missions and “23 had confirmed their participation”.

“A total of 141 public representatives from these countries are scheduled to participate. 124 MPs from the UK, Canada, Fiji, Kenya, Mauritius, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and other countries are slated to take part,” he said, adding that 17 mayors from US, Malaysia, Switzerland, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago were scheduled to join the day-long event.

When asked why no MPs were participating from the US, the MEA official said it was because of the ongoing session of its Senate. In response to a question, Mulay said no Saarc country except Sri Lanka was invited.

Asked if the conference could provide a platform in furthering the government’s efforts towards making Hindi one of the official languages of the UN, he said, “We give a lot of priority to Hindi. And when participants from countries like Fiji and Mauritius will come and speak in Hindi, it will, on its own give it the right push.”