Pro-tem Speaker row: Govt & Oppn at loggerheads
NEW DELHI: As the first session of the newly elected 18th Lok Sabha is all set to begin from June 24, the appointment of the Pro-tem Speaker has emerged as a source of friction between the government and the Opposition.
After slamming the BJP-led NDA government for ignoring the claim of the eight term Lok Sabha MP from Kerala Kodikunnil Suresh for the position of the Pro-tem Speaker, the Opposition INDIA bloc is most likely to spurn the role assigned to K Suresh and two other Opposition MPs – T R Baalu of DMK and Sudip Bandyopadhyay of TMC – to assist the Pro-tem Speaker B. Mahtab of BJP in administering the oath to the new members.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the Congress of resorting to lies and the Opposition threatening to refuse to join the panel of chairpersons in the House.
President Droupadi Murmu had appointed BJP leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, who is tasked with administering the oath and affirmation to the newly-elected members of the Lok Sabha and preside over the election of the Speaker.
The President had also named Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) apart from the Congress, DMK and TMC members to assist Mahtab in the process that will take place over the first three days of the Lok Sabha Session commencing on June 24.
The Congress had alleged that the government had violated procedures and conventions and ignored the right of eight-term member Suresh to the post of the pro-tem Speaker, a claim dismissed as “misleading” by Rijiju.
Rijiju had asserted that Mahtab was the senior-most in the House as he was elected for seven uninterrupted terms to the Lok Sabha, while Suresh, though a eight-term member, was not a member in 1998 and 2004. Suresh had said his claim to the post of pro-tem speaker was overlooked as he belonged to the Dalit community, remarks that were rejected by Rijiju.
Rijiju said he may be the first tribal to occupy the post of Parliamentary Affairs Minister but he won’t be intimidated by the threats and lies of Congress party.
Earlier, Congress leader K C Venugopal had described the overlooking of Suresh’s claim to the Pro-tem Speaker post as an attempt at “destroying parliamentary norms”.
“I have said this before and say this now, the battle for saving our democracy and constitution isn’t over yet,” Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray said in a post on X.
CPI general secretary D Raja said even after a serious reprimand by the people by cutting the BJP in size, they have not understood the seminal importance of democracy, consultation, parliamentary norms and Opposition for the country.
“However, the totalitarian BJP cannot see an Opposition member even as Speaker pro tem and thus appointed a turncoat BJP MP to the post,” Raja said.
Even as the issue of the Pro-tem Speaker has led to a face off between the government and the Opposition, the new government is likely to face a tough time in Parliament as the Opposition prepares to grill it on a number of issues ranging from NEET-NET exam irregularities, train accident in Bengal, the scheduled implementation of the new criminal laws from July 1 and sudden surge in share prices just after the exit polls which was raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
