Monday marks the start of the 18th Lok Sabha’s first session, during which freshly elected members of parliament, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will take the oath of office.
The opposition is likely to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the June 26 Speaker election, debates about alleged paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and a dispute over the pro-tem Speaker’s appointment, therefore the first session is expected to be turbulent.
As the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab will take the oath from President Droupadi Murmu. After that, Mr. Mahtab would ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, to swear to office.
The Lok Sabha Speaker will be chosen on June 26. The address of President Droupadi Murmu to the joint session of both houses of Parliament is set for June 27.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats, the INDIA bloc won 234 seats, and the Congress held 99 seats. This is the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha following the general elections.
In the meantime, today’s meeting of the newly elected Congress MPs has been scheduled for 10 a.m. at the CPP office in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, prominent members of the Congress party, took aim at the BJP following the reported anomalies in the National Eligibility-cum-admission Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), a medical admission exam. They declared their solidarity with the students.
The opposition has claimed that the government disregarded Congress Member K Suresh, who is the senior member, in the dispute over the selection of BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker. This dispute is expected to cast a shadow over the proceedings.
The newly elected MPs will take the oath of office and the House’s business will be managed by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, who has been named pro-tem Speaker.
The central government’s choice of seven-term BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of the Congress has sparked a sharp reaction from the Congress, which claims that the BJP’s appointment departs from the custom of selecting the senior member.
A seventh-term MP has been named pro-tem Speaker of the House, according to Congress leader K Suresh, despite the fact that there is an eighth-term MP in the chamber.
“There are certain customs related to the Parliament of India, and it is always the senior-most member irrespective of the party, who is given the opportunity to become the pro-tem speaker. It is merely a matter of two days but it is the respect given to the member whichever party he/she is from. Unfortunately, a Dalit member, who is an 8-time MP from Kerala has been denied the right to become the pro-tem speaker. This shows the attitude of the NDA government towards the Dalit and the oppressed community of this country. They have violated all the traditions and customs… Even though this session is hardly for 8 days, it should have been in consensus with the opposition because we are representing almost 45 per cent of the country,” he said.
The 17th Lok Sabha’s final session, which was also its budget session, took place from January 31 to February 10, 2024.
