om-birla-vs-k-suresh-who-will-be-the-ls-speaker

The Lok Sabha Speaker’s post will see an election for the first time after the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition failed to reach a consensus.

 

While the NDA has picked BJP MP Om Birla as its candidate, the opposition has decided to field veteran Congress leader K Suresh.

 

The government had deployed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to build a consensus on the Lok Sabha Speaker candidate after the opposition INDIA bloc said it was considering its options.

 

Om Birla had won the Kota Lok Sabha seat by a margin of more than 41,000 votes in the general elections.

 

Previously, sources said the Deputy Speaker’s post could go to the Opposition if a consensus was reached on the NDA’s candidate for Lok Sabha Speaker.

 

The BJP had appointed AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. The post has been vacant since 2019.

 

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said party president Mallikarjun Kharge had received a call from Rajnath Singh to extend support to the NDA’s candidate.

 

The Raebareli MP said, as per convention, the post of Deputy Speaker should be given to the Opposition.

 

“Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge, and he asked him to extend support to the Speaker. The entire Opposition said we would support the Speaker, but the convention is that the Deputy Speaker post should be given to the opposition. Rajnath Singh said that he would call back Mallikarjun Kharge, but he has not done that yet,” Rahul Gandhi said.

 

The consensus on the Speaker’s post comes following a bitter stand-off between the government and the Opposition over the appointment of pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.

 

On Monday, opposition leaders refused to be a part of the panel to assist the pro-tem Speaker. The opposition, led by the Congress, accused the government of deviating from tradition in not appointing the senior-most member of the Lok Sabha for the temporary post.

 

With the Congress expecting its eight-time MP Kodikunnil Suresh to be chosen as the pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha as per parliamentary norms, a controversy has erupted after seven-term Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJP was named for the post, with the Opposition party claiming it is against convention.