British House of Commons speaker to visit India

London, Aug 12 (PTI) John Bercow, Speaker of the British
House of Commons, will visit India on a four-day tour from
August 16 to get a "first-hand experience" of the working of
the world’s largest parliamentary democracy.
"I look forward to my first visit to India, as Speaker of
the House. As the world’s largest parliamentary democracy, my
first-hand experience of it will be exciting and
enlightening," Bercow said before leaving for India.
He said he looked forward to seeing how parliamentary
counterparts in India execute their business of holding the
executive to account and passing legislation.
"I also look forward to strengthening ties between our
two parliaments, and to seeing old friends from the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association," Bercow noted.
During the visit at the invitation of Lok Sabha (lower
house of Parliament) Speaker Meira Kumar, Bercow will meet
Vice President Hamid Ansari, Sushma Swaraj, leader of
opposition, president and members of the India-UK
Parliamentary Friendship Group and members of the
Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, official sources
here said.
Bercow will deliver a lecture on 'Parliamentary reform'
at the University of Delhi on August 17.
He was elected 157th speaker of the House of Commons on
22 June 2009. He was elected Member of Parliament for
Buckingham in May 1997 as a Conservative, serving on the front
benches as spokesman for Education and Employment and Home
Affairs.
He was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
in 2001, then Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions in 2002
and from 2003 to 2004 as Shadow Secretary of State for
International Development.
He then became a member of the International Development
Select Committee and served as co-Chair of the All party
Parliamentary group on Burma, vice-Chair of the APG on the
prevention of genocide, Africa and Sudan.