New Delhi: Seven-term MP and BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab was on Thursday named acting Lok Sabha Speaker, going against the widely followed convention of appointing the senior-most member to the post, drawing harsh criticism from the Opposition Congress.
The Acting Speaker will administer the oath/affirmation to the newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha and will preside over the Lower House until the election of the Speaker.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Mahtab as acting president and 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).
Soon after Rijiju's announcement, the Congress accused the BJP-led government of "destroying parliamentary norms" by ignoring the claim of Suresh, an eight-term Lok Sabha member, for the post of acting speaker.
"In yet another attempt to destroy parliamentary norms, Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-term MP, has been appointed as interim president, replacing Kodikunnil Suresh, who will enter his eighth term," AICC general secretary K C said in a post. Venugopal. in X.
Congress leader Manickam Tagore, in a post on of Congress, Kodikunnil Suresh".
The BJP said the Congress should "relax" as the grand party has lost the Lok Sabha elections.
"You have just lost an election. Relax. Reflect on the third consecutive defeat, instead of complaining about everything," BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said on X.
Mahtab, who switched sides from the BJD to the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections, won the Cuttack parliamentary seat.
The practice of appointing the senior-most member as acting president was not followed in 1956, when Sardar Hukam Singh was appointed to the post.
In 1977, D N Tiwari was appointed acting president. He also wasn't the highest-ranking member of the House.
In 2019, Virendra Kumar, then a seven-term Lok Sabha member, was appointed as the acting president. Maneka Gandhi was the oldest member of the previous Lok Sabha and was a member for eight terms.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24. Newly elected members will take the oath/affirmation on June 24-25.
The election of the President is scheduled for June 26.
The Acting Speaker will administer the oath/affirmation to the newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha and will preside over the Lower House until the election of the Speaker.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that President Droupadi Murmu has appointed Mahtab as acting president and 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).
Soon after Rijiju's announcement, the Congress accused the BJP-led government of "destroying parliamentary norms" by ignoring the claim of Suresh, an eight-term Lok Sabha member, for the post of acting speaker.
"In yet another attempt to destroy parliamentary norms, Bhartruhari Mahtab, a seven-term MP, has been appointed as interim president, replacing Kodikunnil Suresh, who will enter his eighth term," AICC general secretary K C said in a post. Venugopal. in X.
Congress leader Manickam Tagore, in a post on of Congress, Kodikunnil Suresh".
The BJP said the Congress should "relax" as the grand party has lost the Lok Sabha elections.
"You have just lost an election. Relax. Reflect on the third consecutive defeat, instead of complaining about everything," BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said on X.
Mahtab, who switched sides from the BJD to the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections, won the Cuttack parliamentary seat.
The practice of appointing the senior-most member as acting president was not followed in 1956, when Sardar Hukam Singh was appointed to the post.
In 1977, D N Tiwari was appointed acting president. He also wasn't the highest-ranking member of the House.
In 2019, Virendra Kumar, then a seven-term Lok Sabha member, was appointed as the acting president. Maneka Gandhi was the oldest member of the previous Lok Sabha and was a member for eight terms.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24. Newly elected members will take the oath/affirmation on June 24-25.
The election of the President is scheduled for June 26.
