New Delhi ,24 June :
The pro-tem Speaker, a temporary position, primarily administers the oath to new members. The 18th Lok Sabha convenes today amid heightened tensions as the Opposition returns stronger after the general election, which denied the BJP a majority.
Besides protests over irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the selection of the pro-tem Speaker has become a significant point of contention between the treasury and Opposition benches.
The pro-tem Speaker is chosen from among the seniormost MPs. The BJP has selected Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-time MP previously with the Biju Janata Dal, for the role. The Congress has opposed this choice, questioning why K Suresh, an eight-term Congress MP, was not selected. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju explained that Mahtab’s seven consecutive terms as a Lok Sabha MP outweigh Suresh’s record, who lost elections in 1998 and 2004 and is in his fourth consecutive term.
President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab before the House meets today. Mahtab will serve as pro-tem Speaker until the election of the permanent Speaker. The President has stated that the seniormost members of the House – K Suresh, T R Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste, and Sudip Bandyopadhyay – will assist the pro-tem Speaker in administering the oath to new MPs.
The Congress has declared that MPs from the INDIA Opposition bloc – Suresh, Baalu, and Bandyopadhyay – will not assist during the oath ceremony in protest against the government’s choice of pro-tem Speaker. Mr. Rijiju met the three senior MPs ahead of the session, but Baalu indicated he would not assist Mahtab.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned why the BJP did not choose its MP Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, also in his seventh consecutive term, for the post. He suggested the decision might be influenced by the fact that both Suresh and Jigajinagi are Dalits.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla responded, suggesting the Congress should make Suresh the Leader of the Opposition if they are so concerned about his political career. He also proposed that Suresh be the CM candidate for the UDF in the 2026 Kerala elections.
Suresh, MP from Kerala’s Mavelikara, criticized the government’s decision, asserting that an eighth-term MP should have been chosen as pro-tem Speaker. He claimed the decision has drawn widespread criticism.
