NEW DELHI: Defending the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said that it has never been an issue in the history of the Indian Parliament.
“This is a non-issue as per the conventions. I have come to request the pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab for the oath ceremony that will be taking place in Rashtapati Bhavan,” said Rijiju.
He further highlighted that everyone has shown their consent over the appointment of a pro-tem Speaker. “I met all the leaders. Just now I met DMK Parliamentary Party leader TR Baalu. Everyone agrees that Pro tem Speaker has never been an issue in the history of Indian Parliament and the appointment of Pro tem Speaker is basically to administer oath to the newly elected members and help in the election of the new Speaker,” Rijiju said.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said, “We are bound by conventions and rules. History will always tell us that the Modi government has worked as per the rules and regulations.”
In a post on X, Rijiju said he shall always be available to assist the members of parliament as the minister of parliamentary affairs.
#WATCH | Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says, “…I met all the leaders. Just now I met DMK Parliamentary Party leader TR Baalu. Everyone agrees that Pro tem Speaker has never been an issue in the history of Indian Parliament and the appointment of Pro tem… pic.twitter.com/RcNvTT8yGH
— ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2024
“The First Session of the 18th Lok Sabha begins today, the 24th June 2024. I welcome all the newly elected Hon’ble members. I shall be always available to assist the members as minister of parliamentary affairs. I’m positively looking forward to co-ordination to run the house,” Rijiju wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Congress leader K Suresh, who is an eighth-term MP, the MPs of the India bloc have decided not to sit on the speaker’s chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of MPs, sources said.
According to the sources, Congress and India Bloc parties are upset with the fact that tradition has been broken as Mehtab was made the Protem Speaker instead of the 8-time Congress MP K Suresh.
The Congress has reacted sharply to the central government’s decision to appoint Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.
President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to address the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. (ANI)