By NNN-PTI,
London : Lord Swraj Paul, British Parliamentarian of Indian origin, is seeking election as Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in a direct contest with a Malaysian Minister at the General Assembly of the 54-nation grouping at Kuala Lumpur on August 9.
Lok Sabha (Lower House) Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will lead the Indian delegation to the General Assembly which will bring together up to 700 lawmakers from the Commonwealth countries. Besides MPs, Speakers of State Assemblies are also eligible to attend the Assembly beginning on August 5.
The NRI industrialist, who is a Labour member of the House of Lords, is pitted against Mohammed Shafie Apdal, a Malaysian Minister, for the post that will be vacated by West Bengal Assembly Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim.
75-year-old Paul, whose name has been proposed by Canada and Britain, is promising to re-invigorate the CPA, ensuring that it is pro-active in strengthening Parliamentary democracy.
The steel magnate, Chairman of the Caparo Group, is backed by 12 years of experience as a parliamentarian and his diligent work in the Committees of British Parliament.
Passionate about education, Paul, who is Chancellor of two universities, believes that Parliamentarians have an enormous responsibility to give proper education to women, ensure full equality and empowerment for them and address global issues such as clean drinking water, sanitation and food.