New Delhi. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday met Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay on the eve of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. With this, the deadlock with the opposition ‘India’ alliance continues over the appointment of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhartruhari Mahtab as the temporary Speaker (Pro tem Speaker) of the Lok Sabha.
Rijiju’s meeting with Bandopadhyay came at a time when the opposition alliance has decided to remove its members from the panel of presiding officers. These members were appointed to assist Mahtab in conducting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker on Wednesday.
Bandopadhyay is one of the three opposition members nominated to the panel of presiding officers in the Lok Sabha. Bandopadhyay told Rijiju that he would not be able to join the panel. He decided to stick to the decision taken by the ‘India’ alliance.
Rijiju said on the social media platform ‘X’, “Met Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay ji. Sudip da has a long parliamentary career and he is known for his calm and dignified conduct in Parliament. The 18th Lok Sabha will benefit greatly from his experiences.”
Earlier, the President had appointed Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), TR Balu (DMK), Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) and Sudip Bandopadhyay (Trinamool Congress) to assist Mahtab in administering the oath to the newly elected members of the Lok Sabha.
Congress had objected to Mahtab’s appointment and said that eight-time member and Dalit leader Suresh has been ignored. The ‘India’ alliance has said that opposition leaders Suresh, Balu and Bandopadhyay will not be included in the panel of presiding officers as a protest.
Rijiju has claimed that Mahtab has been a Lok Sabha member for seven consecutive terms, making him eligible for the post, while Suresh lost the elections in 1998 and 2004, making his current term his fourth consecutive term in the lower house. Earlier, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999.
The Congress continued its attack on the BJP on Sunday, with senior leader Jairam Ramesh calling the ruling party anti-Dalit. “If this logic is followed, why was BJP member Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi, a seventh-term MP, not considered? Is it because he is a Dalit like Suresh,” Ramesh, the party’s general secretary in-charge of communications, posted on X.
Reacting to the post, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that the Congress should make Suresh the leader of the opposition. He said on ‘X’, “If you are so concerned about Kodikunnil Suresh’s political career, I would urge you to make him the leader of the opposition and the UDF’s chief ministerial face for the 2026 Kerala elections. Why so much stress for a temporary post?”
The BJP spokesperson also said that most of the victims of the poisonous liquor tragedy in Tamil Nadu are from the Scheduled Caste and the Congress should ensure justice for them as well. He said, “Most of the 56 people who died in Kallakurichi in the liquor tragedy are from the Scheduled Caste community. How about asking MK Stalin ji to sack the Excise Minister so that some justice can be provided to them.”
Tags: BJP, india alliance, Kiren Rijiju, Speaker of Lok Sabha
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 23, 2024, 23:24 IST