Politics
K Suresh Accuses BJP Government of Insulting Opposition Amid Pro-tem Speaker Row
K Suresh Accuses BJP Government of Insulting Opposition Amid Pro-tem Speaker Row
Bhartruhari Mahtab’s appointment as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is an insult to the opposition, according to Congress MP K Suresh on Monday. The lawmaker stated that in order to help Mahtab lead the House till a regular Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected, the opposition led by the INDIA group has chosen to remove its members from the panel of chairpersons.
As the most senior member of the Lok Sabha, Mahtab’s selection as the temporary Speaker goes against long-standing House traditions, as K Suresh pointed out. K Suresh claimed that while Mehtab has only been elected seven times, he has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) eight times. “The NDA administration disregarded the Lok Sabha’s convention. Traditionally, the pro-tem Speaker has been the Member of Parliament who has been elected the most times. 7 times as an MP is Bhartruhari Mahtab. But I am an eight-time MP. They are demeaning the opposition once more. Because of this, the INDIA alliance has chosen to boycott the panel with unanimous consent,” he said.
In today’s inaugural sitting of the 18th Lok Sabha, the pro-tem dispute is expected to pose the first major confrontation between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition’s INDIA group. President Droupadi Murmu nominated Mahtab, a Cuttack native and seven-term member of the Lok Sabha, as the acting Speaker. The panel’s members were announced as T R Baalu (DMK), Faggan Singh Kulaste (BJP), Radha Mohan Singh (Congress), and Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress).
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The opposition has chosen to abstain from the panel nevertheless. While Suresh has served in the Lok Sabha for four consecutive terms, the government asserts that Mehtab has served seven consecutive terms in the legislature. On Sunday, the Congress said that because Suresh is a member of the Dalit group, he was passed over for the interim position. The BJP responded to the statement by saying that K Suresh ought to be named the party’s leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
