‘By convention, eight-term MP Kodikunnil should have been LS pro-tem Speaker’

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the government of “destroying parliamentary norms” by choosing seven-term Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker instead of eight-term Lok Sabha member Kodikunnil Suresh who, it said, should have got it as per the convention of naming the senior-most MP to the post.

Mahtab was on Thursday appointed pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said.

He said Mahtab, a BJP member from Cuttack, was appointed as pro-tem Speaker by President Droupadi Murmu under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of the Lok Sabha presiding officer till the election of the Speaker.

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker Protem for the first two days when the oath is administered to all newly elected MPs.”

“The senior-most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh (INC) and Virendra Kumar (BJP), both of who are now serving their eighth term.

“The latter is now a Union minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem. Instead, a seven-term MP,

Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed Speaker Protem. He was a BJD MP for six terms and is now a BJP MP,” Ramesh said on ‘X’.