As the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA moves closer to selecting its Lok Sabha speaker, Union Minister Rajnath Singh reached out to the opposition parties to build a consensus on the choice for the speaker’s post.
According to sources, the senior BJP leader spoke to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Stalin, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav among other opposition leaders regarding the matter.
They said that nomination could be filed for the deputy speaker’s position too, but added it will depend on various factors, including the opposition’s stand.
Kharge clarified that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches adding that while the INDIA bloc wants consensus too, healthy traditions must not be neglected, sources suggested.
On the opposition’s choice for the speaker’s position, sources indicate that the INDIA bloc might not put forward any candidate, as there is no consensus on a unanimous candidate.
Party sources have revealed that the opposition bloc has not yet made a decision on whether they will nominate a candidate for the speaker’s post, and discussions are underway regarding the matter.
Furthermore, the sources have stated that the INDIA bloc’s support for the ruling party’s speaker choice depends on the candidate, but the opposition is not too keen to support NDA’s pick as it is upset over the pro-tem speaker appointment.
A huge political row erupted over the appointment of BJP leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem speaker. The move has drawn flak from the opposition, which alleged that the ruling regime was “anti-Dalit” as it overlooked the claim of Congress member K Suresh to the post.
Rahul Gandhi on Speaker’s Appointment
Reiterating the opposition’s demand for the deputy speaker post, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Rajnath Singh had reached out to Party President Kharge. Gandhi clarified that the deputy speaker must be from the opposition bloc.
“We received a call from Rajnath ji to support their speaker candidate, and we informed him that we would extend our support, but the deputy speaker should be from the opposition. Yesterday, Rajnath ji said he would call back, but we have not heard from him yet.”
Om Birla Likely To Be NDA’s Speaker Candidate
As far as NDA’s possible choice of speaker is concerned, BJP remained tight-lipped about their pick but reports suggest that former Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla is likely to file his nomination for the position.
However, several opposition leaders claimed that the INDIA bloc would not support Birla’s appointment for the second term.
The deadline to file a nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is noon today and an election, if any, will be held tomorrow.
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