Congress upset over pro-tem speaker election, will not assist during oath-taking of MPs
BJP MP Bhratruhari Mehtab was appointed as pro-tem Speaker, instead of Congress leader K Suresh, who is an eighth-term MP, the MPs of the India bloc have decided not to sit on the speaker's chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of MPs, sources said.
According to the sources, Congress and India Bloc parties are upset with the fact that tradition has been broken as Mehtab was made the Protem Speaker instead of the 8-time Congress MP K Suresh.
The Congress has reacted sharply to the central government's decision to appoint Mahtab as Pro-tem Speaker of Lok Sabha over senior-most Dalit MP Kodikkunnil Suresh of Congress, saying that the appointment by the BJP deviates from the traditional practice of appointing the senior member.
Congress leader K Suresh said that there is an eighth-term MP in the House, but a seventh-term MP has been appointed as pro-tem Speaker.
«We are claiming that an eighth-term MP should be the pro-tem Speaker...They have done wrong, and now the whole country is criticising the decision of the BJP government,» K Suresh said.
Congress MP Hibi Eden said that the NDA government has violated all the traditions and customs.
«There are certain customs related to the Parliament of India, and it is always the senior-most member, irrespective of the party, who is given the opportunity to become the pro-tem speaker. It is merely a matter of two days, but it is the respect given to the member, whichever party he/she is from. Unfortunately, a Dalit member, who is an 8-time MP
