“Is it because 8-time MP K Suresh is a Dalit?”: Congress slams Union after 7-time MP B Mahtab appointed pro-tem Speaker of LS

BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab was on 20 June appointed pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha, deviating from the largely followed convention of appointing the senior most member of the House to the post, drawing sharp criticism from the Congress, the key Opposition party.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that President Droupadi Murmu has appointed seven-term parliamentarian Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker and that he will be assisted by senior members K Suresh (Congress), T R Baalu (DMK), Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC).

The primary job of the pro-tem Speaker is to administer the oath to the newly- elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha and preside over the Lower House till the election of the Speaker.

Congress party accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of “destroying parliamentary norms” by ignoring the claim of K Suresh, an eight-term Lok Sabha member, to the post of the pro-tem Speaker.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: “By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker Protem for the first two days when oath is administered to all newly elected MPs. The seniormost MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh (INC) and Virendra Kumar (BJP), both of who are now serving their 8th term. The latter is now a Union Minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem. Instead, a 7-term MP, Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed Speaker Protem. He was a BJD MP for 6 terms and is now a BJP MP.”

“In yet another attempt at destroying parliamentary norms, Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-term MP, has been appointed the pro-tem Speaker, superseding Kodikunnil Suresh, who will be entering his eighth term,” AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said in a post on X.

Venugopal, in a post on X, said, appointing BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha was another attempt at ‘destroying’ Parliamentary norms.

“K Suresh is a 8 term Dalit MP and the BJP opted for a 7 term upper class MP against a Dalit even for a pro tem speaker post . What it shows?” read an X post by Congress MP Manickam Tagore. B.

Senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi posted on X: “The Modi government is denying the Dalit community in India a landmark opportunity to see a member of their community preside over the oath-taking of 543 MPs representing different religions, gender, caste and regions of India. PM Modi’s rejection of 8-term MP Kodikunnil Suresh sends a message that is biased and regretful.”

Courtesy : Maktoob Media

Note: This news is originally published in maktoobmedia.com and was used solely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights.