Opposition forces contest for Lok Sabha Speaker to keep Om Birla on watch

Spread the love

K Suresh of Congress will challenge BJP’s Om Birla for LS Speaker post

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, June 25: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday made history as the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) failed to persuade the Opposition to support its nominee for the Speaker’s post.

The eight-term MP of the Congress, K. Suresh, will challenge the NDA nominee, Om Birla, in the election for the Speaker’s post.

Union Minister for parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju told reporters that there had never been an election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker. Rijiju said: “I appeal to the Opposition to allow a unanimous election of the Speaker.”

Also Read: NEET leaks call for lock stock and barrel sinking of culture of normalising frauds

Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh had met the Opposition leaders to build a consensus for the Speaker’s post. But both Birla and Suresh filed their respective nomination papers to set the stage for the election.

“Rajnath Singh had called the Congress president, Mallikarjuna Kharge. Singh was told that the Opposition member should be given the post of the deputy speaker. Singh didn’t return the call to Kharge,” former Congress president Rahul Gandhi told reporters.

Rijiju said that elections for both the posts are held differently. “There should be no precondition for the support of our nominee for the Speaker’s post. We told the Congress that we could discuss the post of the deputy speaker afterwards,” added Rijiju.

Also Read: Stock Market blows wild wind for banks to trigger frenzied buying

But the Opposition had already forced a clear line to force an election. The 17^th Lok Sabha had no deputy speaker in place.

Om Birla, the Speaker of the 17^th Lok Sabha, on several occasions invited complaints of the Opposition of the mic of their members getting switched off while they stood to speak in the lower House of parliament.

Also, it was on the watch of Birla that the memberships of Gandhi and the Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra were terminated speedily with commentators questioning the undertaken process.

Also Read: BJP backs JP Nadda amid stressed relations with RSS

Birla is likely to be elected the Speaker of the Lok Sabha with the majority support of the NDA members. He will, however, be deprived of the high moral ground of having been unanimously elected by all the members of the Lok Sabha.

Suresh is a Congress MP. He is a Dalit leader. By forcing a contest for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Opposition also appears to be sending out the message that the House will not be allowed to be run in manners seen during the 17^th Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the go-ahead to Birla to file the nomination on Tuesday. Modi apparently is hoping that Birla’s experience in the Chair will help the government deal with an assertive Opposition in the 18^th Lok Sabha.

Join WhatsApp channel of The Raisina Hills

Share on Facebook

Save

About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

See author's posts