Monday saw the pro-tem induction of Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-time member of parliament, as the 18th Lok Sabha’s speaker.
At Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Droupadi Murmu gave the oath.
The oath-taking of the new MPs will kick off the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which was marked by a swearing-in ceremony.
#WATCH | Delhi: BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab takes oath as pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha
President Droupadi Murmu administers the oath pic.twitter.com/VGoL5PGEkT
— ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2024
The controversy over the pro-tem Speaker post
The opposition has criticised the administration for selecting Mahtab as the acting Speaker while ignoring Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term member of the Lok Sabha, who ought to have been named in accordance with the tradition of designating the most senior Member of Parliament for the role. They claimed that because “he belongs to the Dalit community,” Suresh was ignored. President Dropadi Murmu nominated a group of senior members to support Mahtab earlier this week, including Suresh, T R Baalu of the DMK, Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the TMC, and Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste of the BJP. Nonetheless, it appears that the Opposition INDIA group would now reject the post assigned to Suresh along with two others (Baalu and Bandyopadhyay, according to sources).
