 "Will support NDA Speaker if Deputy Speaker post goes to INDIA: Rahul Gandhi")
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday that the party would support the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker position, provided the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adheres to the ‘convention’ and assigns the Deputy Speaker position to the INDIA bloc.
Before the second day of the 18th Parliament session, Gandhi told reporters, “We have said to Rajnath Singh that we will support their Speaker (candidate) but the convention is that the post of Deputy Speaker to be given to opposition...”
Following the controversy surrounding pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab’s selection on the first day of the session, it is anticipated that the Speaker will be a BJP nominee.
Talking about Prime Minister Modi’s call for constructive cooperation from the Opposition with the government, Gandhi said that Rajnath Singh had contacted Mallikarjun Kharge, requesting his support for the Speaker.
“Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge but he has not done that yet... PM Modi is asking for cooperation from the Opposition but our leader is getting insulted," he added.
Reportedly, among the several candidates being considered, Om Birla, an MP from Kota, Rajasthan, who served as the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, is the front-runner. Other possible candidates include Andhra Pradesh BJP President D Purandeswari, senior BJP leader Radha Mohan Singh, and current pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.
Controversy over pro-tem Speaker on Day 1
On the session’s opening day, key MPs from the INDIA bloc refused to assist the pro-tem Speaker. Congress member K Suresh, a prominent candidate for the pro-tem Speaker position, along with DMK MP T R Baalu and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, abstained from taking their oaths when called upon. Suresh later took his oath, but the opposition criticised Mahtab's appointment as pro-tem Speaker.
More From This Section
They argued that K Suresh, an eight-term MP and Dalit leader, was unfairly bypassed. The Congress claimed this appointment deviates from the tradition of selecting the senior-most MP as the pro-tem Speaker.
On the first day, 262 newly-elected MPs, including the Prime Minister, were sworn in. Meanwhile, opposition MPs from the INDIA bloc protested within the Parliament complex, emphasising their commitment to ‘saving democracy’ and displaying copies of the Constitution.
The oath-taking ceremony was overshadowed by recent issues, including the NEET medical exam controversies, the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, recent terror attacks in Kashmir, a train accident in West Bengal, and the hooch tragedy in Tamil Nadu.