Amid the controversy over the appointment of a new pro tem Speaker, opposition sources on Saturday reportedly said that Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajutevar Baalu and Sudip Bandopadhyay may not be included in the panel of speakers to assist Pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab in administering oath to the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha.
meanwhile, India Express The report said the opposition’s Bharat Bloc “may reject the role given to Suresh and two other opposition MPs to assist Mahtab in swearing in the new members”.
These reports have surfaced amid the ongoing tussle between the NDA government and Bharat Block over the issue of Protem Speaker.
On June 20, President Draupadi Murmu appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the Protem Speaker under Article 95 (1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of the Speaker until the election of the Speaker.
He appointed Congress MP Suresh Kodikunnil, DMK MP Thalikkottai Rajutevar Baalu, TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay and BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste to assist the Pro Tem Speaker in administering the “oath/affirmation to the newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker”.
What is the controversy?
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh immediately objected to the appointment of the pro tem speaker, saying “as per tradition, the MP who has completed the maximum term is appointed the pro tem speaker for the first two days when all the newly-elected MPs are sworn in.”
The Congress leader said the senior-most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress) and Virendra Kumar (BJP), both of whom are serving their eighth term.
“Now that he is a Union minister, it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the pro tem speaker,” Ramesh said in a post on June 20.
Congress leader KC Venugopal described the ignoring of Suresh’s claim for the post of pro tem Speaker as an attempt to “destroy parliamentary norms”.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed the claim as “misleading”. He said Mahtab is the senior-most in the House as he has been elected to the Lok Sabha seven times in a row, while Suresh is an eight-time member but was not a member in 1998 and 2004.
According to news agency PTI, Suresh’s claim for the post of pro tem speaker was ignored as he belonged to the Dalit community.
Rijuji rejected Suresh’s statement and said, “I may be the first tribal to hold the post of Parliamentary Affairs Minister, but I will not be intimidated by the threats and lies of the Congress party…”
He said, “I will abide by the rules and will strictly follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas.”
In a single day, 36 million Indians chose us as India’s undisputed platform for General Election results. Check latest updates Here!
Get all the politics news and updates on Live Mint. Download Mint News App to get daily market updates and live business news.
more less
Published: June 22, 2024, 06:40 PM IST
