NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu has appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were appointed to assist the Speaker Protem in oath taking of the newly-elected members.
“President is pleased to appoint Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member, Lok Sabha as Speaker Protem under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till election of the Speaker,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X.
“President is also pleased to appoint Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Members of Lok Sabha under Article 99 of the Constitution to assist Speaker Protem in Oath/Affirmation to newly elected Members of 18th Lok Sabha till election of the Speaker,” he added.
The Congress objected to the government’s decision, saying that the longest-serving MP is made pro tem Speaker as per convention and party MP Kodikunnil Suresh should have been given the role as he is entering his eighth term as parliamentarian.
“By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker Protem for the first two days when oath is administered to all newly elected MPs. The seniormost 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 in a post on X.
Other Congress leaders also objected to the decision. Party leader KC Venugopal said the government should explain why it overlooked K Suresh.
“In yet another attempt at destroying parliamentary norms, Mr. Bhartruhari Mahtab (a 7-term MP) has been appointed the Pro-Tem Speaker, superseding Sh. @kodikunnilMP, who will be entering his 8th term. It is an unquestioned norm that the senior most MP presides over the proceedings of the House before the Speaker is duly elected. It is a matter of immense pride for our party that K Suresh, a leader from the marginalised section of society,has achieved this feat of being 8-term MP,” he said.
“The government should explain why it chose to overlook K Suresh, what was the factor that disqualified him from this post? Are there deeper issues influencing this decision, perhaps beyond just merit and seniority?” he asked in a post on X.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore reacted to Rijiju’s post and said that the decision was a mistake on part of the government.
“First mistake as Parliamentary Affairs Minister: seven-term BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab chosen as Protem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress. What are the minister’s intentions?” he asked in a post on X.
As per Article 94 of the Constitution, the office of the Speaker becomes vacant immediately before the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha. In that case, the duties of the Speaker are to be performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the President as Speaker pro tem.
The first session of 18th Lok Sabha will start on June 24. The Rajya Sabha session will begin on June 27. (ANI)