BJP issues three-line whip to its all RS members to be present on Sept 14
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a three-line whip on Wednesday, asking its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House on September 14, as the election for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post is scheduled on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament.
First, the oath-taking of newly nominated members will take place and then in the afternoon, the election is slated. Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (United) member Harivansh Narayan Singh has been re-nominated as BJP-led NDA candidate for the post. His first set of nomination papers were proposed by BJP president J.P. Nadda and seconded by Leader of Rajya Sabha Thawarchand Gehlot, while the second set of nomination papers were filed by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, seconded by ally SAD leader Naresh Gujral.
On the other side, as Congress mooted the idea of a joint candidate for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman post, sources said that DMK leader Tiruchi Siva's name has almost been finalised. Meanwhile, Congress high command has already approached other opposition parties. The decision has been taken after a meeting of top party leaders, chaired by interim president Sonia Gandhi, on Tuesday.
The nominations will be accepted until noon on September 11. The Congress presently has 40 members in the Upper House but its allies bring that number up to 63 — DMK (7), RJD (5), NCP (4), JMM (1), MDMK (1), IUML (1), Shiv Sena (3) and 1 Independent candidate. However, at present, the BJP has 86 Rajya Sabha members, while the strength of the ruling NDA is 113, includes AIADMK (9), JDU (5), SAD (3), among others.
The saffron power corridors are confident of securing the support of about 140 MPs. The post is vacant after incumbent Harivash's term in the Upper House ended in April, this year. Since then he has been re-elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Experts feel that earlier there was a political rift between BJP and JD (U) over the candidate for this post, as the saffron party wants to keep the key post for itself like other important constitutional posts. But gradually the party leadership may have realised that to win Bihar it needs Nitish Kumar.
The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled from September 14 to October 1.
