INDIA bloc MPs won't assist pro-tem Speaker during Parl session

As the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is set to begin today, INDIA bloc leaders decided not to sit in the Speaker's chair to assist the pro-tem Speaker during the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected MPs.

The Congress and other opposition parties are disappointed that seven-time MP Bhratruhari Mehtab was made the pro-tem Speaker instead of eight-time Congress MP K Suresh.

Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu on Monday administered oath to Mahtab as 'speaker pro-tem' of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha.

A seven-time MP, Mahtab, along with a panel of chairpersons is tasked with running the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on Monday and Tuesday when winning candidates will take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

On Wednesday, he will preside over the House when a new Speaker will be elected.

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," Eden said.

"Unfortunately, a Dalit member, who is an 8-time MP from Kerala has been denied the right to become the pro-tem speaker. This shows the attitude of the NDA government towards the Dalit and the oppressed community of this country. They have violated all the traditions and customs... Even though this session is hardly for 8 days, it should have been in consensus with the opposition because we are representing almost 45 per cent of the country," he added.

The first session is expected to be stormy as the opposition is likely to corner the BJP-led NDA government on the election of the Speaker on June 26, discussions regarding allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG and UGC-NET, and a row over the appointment of the pro-tem Speaker.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is set to commence on June 24, starting with the oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected legislators.

The election of the Speaker is scheduled for June 26.

President Droupadi Murmu is expected to address Parliament on June 27.