The inability of the Congress-led INDIA opposition and the BJP-led NDA government to come to an agreement has resulted in a vote for the Lok Sabha Speaker position being held on Wednesday for the first time in decades.
The Lok Sabha Speaker has only been elected three times in history prior to this: in 1952, 1967, and 1976.
Historically, the opposition and the ruling party have reached an agreement to choose the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota, Rajasthan, will compete against Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term lawmaker from Mavelikara in Kerala, for the Congress. In the 18th Lok Sabha, Suresh has served as a legislator for the longest.
Members of the main opposition Congress Party and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have been assigned three-line whips, requiring them to be in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday from 11 am till the conclusion of the proceedings.
On June 26, a new Lok Sabha Speaker will be chosen. President Murmu is expected to address a joint session of both chambers of Parliament on June 27.
The Deputy Speaker’s position should be left for the Opposition in exchange for the Opposition’s support of the NDA nominee, as demanded by the Opposition INDIA group, was rejected by the NDA.
The INDIA group has before called for the Deputy Speaker’s office. But as the BJP has not provided any clarification, the INDIA group has proposed Congress MP K Suresh for the position of Speaker.
However, the BJP has proposed Om Birla, a Kota MP who previously held the position of Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, for the position of Speaker.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, had stated that they had told Defence Minister Rajnath Singh that the opposition is willing to back the NDA’s candidate for Speaker, provided that the opposition is also awarded the position of Deputy Speaker.
“We have said to Rajnath Singh that we will support their Speaker (candidate), but the convention is that the post of Deputy Speaker is given to the Opposition,” Rahul Gandhi said in a Tuesday media conference.
With 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the NDA has a certain majority; the opposition INDIA alliance has 234 MPs.
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