In Pro tem Speaker row flare-up, INDIA bloc set to pull out of panel for Mahtab assistance

Having castigated the new BJP-led NDA government for ignoring the claim of the eight-term Lok Sabha MP from the Congress, Kodikunnil Suresh, for the Pro tem Speaker’s position in the newly-elected House while appointing BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab to it, the Opposition INDIA bloc is now likely to reject the role given to Suresh and two other Opposition MPs to assist Mahtab in administering oath to the new members.

Earlier this week, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Mahtab as the Pro tem Speaker to perform the duties of the Chair till the election of the Speaker of the new Lok Sabha. The President also nominated a panel of senior MPs comprising Suresh, DMK MP T R Baalu, Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and BJP leaders Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste to assist Mahtab. The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will get underway on June 24, with the Speaker’s election scheduled for June 26.

The Opposition has slammed the government for appointing Mahtab, a seven-term MP from Odisha’s Cuttack, overlooking Suresh, who is the senior-most MP after being elected in the recent Lok Sabha polls for the eighth term from Kerala’s Mavelikara seat.

The Congress even alleged that Suresh was overlooked by the BJP dispensation as he belongs to the Dalit community. Sources in the Opposition camp said Suresh, Baalu and Bandyopadhyay may not accept the role given to them.

Countering the Opposition’s charge, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju Friday justified Mahtab’s appointment, saying that “as per the Westminster system”, the MP who has the longest-serving uninterrupted tenure is chosen for the position. Mahtab, he said, “is a seven-time Lok Sabha member without any break. At this time, if we leave out the