Om Birla to be re-elected Lok Sabha Speaker as NDA, opposition reach consensus

NEW DELHI, JUN 25 : BJP MP Om Birla will be re-elected as Lok Sabha Speaker after the ruling BJP-led NDA and the opposition reached a consensus on Tuesday. The opposition has decided not to field its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post.

The government had deployed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to build a consensus on the Lok Sabha Speaker candidate after the opposition INDIA bloc said it was considering its options.

Previously, sources said the Deputy Speaker’s post could go to the opposition if a consensus was reached on the NDA’s candidate for Lok Sabha Speaker.

The BJP had appointed its AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. The post has been vacant since 2019.

The deadline to file a nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is June 25. If the opposition had fielded its candidate, an election would have been held on Wednesday. In India’s parliamentary history, all Speakers have been elected unanimously.

The consensus on the Speaker’s post comes following a bitter stand-off between the government and the Opposition over the appointment of pro tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Opposition leaders have refused to be a part of the panel to assist the pro tem Speaker and have accused the government of deviating from tradition in not appointing the senior-most member of the Lok Sabha for the temporary post.

-PTI