NEW DELHI: Ahead of the election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday appealed to the Congress party to reconsider its decision to contest for the Speaker’s post.
“We request the Congress party to give it a thought again, and not to contest on the Speaker’s post. We have the numbers, but it’s not a question of numbers.The speaker has to run the House impartially. So in this context, it’s better for all of us to elect the speaker unanimously. So in this context, it’s better for all of us to elect the speaker unanimously. So I think we still have time, and we will make one more appeal to the Congress party. But if we are pushed into the election, we are prepared,” Rijiju said.
“We all are colleagues in the House and we have to work together. When we give an offer to them (Opposition), we expect that the offer is accepted gracefully but that has not been done. We will appeal to them again. There is a simple thing to elect the Speaker unanimously. We do not believe in making preconditions for the post of Speaker. Let us concentrate and elect the Speaker and then we can discuss the other issues later,” he added.
This comes a day after the Congress party decided to pitch K Suresh for the post of Speaker in the 18th Lok Sabha against BJP’s Om Birla. The opposition had announced it was ready for a consensus on Speaker if the government respected parliamentary conventions and gave the deputy’s chair to the rival camp.
The government, however, refused to accept the opposition’s demand, saying the issue of deputy Speaker could be negotiated later. Though this will be only the fourth time — and the first in 48 years — when a speaker will not be elected by consensus.
The NDA, which commands 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, holds a clear majority, while the opposition INDIA bloc comprises 234 MPs.
“We request the Congress party to give it a thought again, and not to contest on the Speaker’s post. We have the numbers, but it’s not a question of numbers.The speaker has to run the House impartially. So in this context, it’s better for all of us to elect the speaker unanimously. So in this context, it’s better for all of us to elect the speaker unanimously. So I think we still have time, and we will make one more appeal to the Congress party. But if we are pushed into the election, we are prepared,” Rijiju said.
“We all are colleagues in the House and we have to work together. When we give an offer to them (Opposition), we expect that the offer is accepted gracefully but that has not been done. We will appeal to them again. There is a simple thing to elect the Speaker unanimously. We do not believe in making preconditions for the post of Speaker. Let us concentrate and elect the Speaker and then we can discuss the other issues later,” he added.
This comes a day after the Congress party decided to pitch K Suresh for the post of Speaker in the 18th Lok Sabha against BJP’s Om Birla. The opposition had announced it was ready for a consensus on Speaker if the government respected parliamentary conventions and gave the deputy’s chair to the rival camp.
The government, however, refused to accept the opposition’s demand, saying the issue of deputy Speaker could be negotiated later. Though this will be only the fourth time — and the first in 48 years — when a speaker will not be elected by consensus.
The NDA, which commands 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, holds a clear majority, while the opposition INDIA bloc comprises 234 MPs.
