NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JUNE 25
As the Lok Sabha is all set for the historic elections for the post of Speaker, both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress on Tuesday issued whips to their MPs to remain present in the house from 11 am onwards on Wednesday.
- Opposition forced an election by nominating K. Suresh as its candidate
- Since Independence, the Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition
- The INDIA bloc claims that they have supported a consensus candidate if the government had agreed to their demand for the Deputy Speaker post
Since Independence, the Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
“All members of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11 a.m. onwards till the adjournment of the House on June 26 without fail and support the party stand,” the whip issued by the grand old party said.
The opposition has nominated Kodikunnil Suresh for the post of Speaker after attempts to reach a consensus on the appointment of BJP MP and former Speaker Om Birla to the pivotal post failed.
The INDIA bloc claims that they have supported a consensus candidate if the government had agreed to their demand for the Deputy Speaker post.
The scheduled day for picking the Speaker is Wednesday and if an election occurs, it will be only the third time in Lok Sabha’s history.
With the NDA having 293 MPs in its kitty and the INDIA bloc 233, numbers clearly favour Birla in Lok Sabha, which currently has 542 members after Rahul Gandhi resigned from one of the two seats he was elected from. At least three independent members also support the opposition.
