Mahtab takes oath as Pro-tem Speaker of 18th Lok Sabha

President Droupadi Murmu on June 24 administered oath to BJP member B. 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 June 24 and 25 when winning candidates will take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

On June 26, he will preside over the House when a new Speaker will be elected. Mr. Mahtab along with the panel of chairpersons was appointed by the President on June 20.

INDIA bloc leaders protest holding copy of Constitution

Amid the row over the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as Pro-tem speaker, INDIA bloc leaders on June 24 carried out a protest holding copies of the Constitution inside the Parliament premises in the national capital.

Also read | PM Modi ahead of new Lok Sabha’s first session: People want substance not slogans

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi, and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge took part in the protest. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “The ruling party hasn’t forgotten their haughtiness…we can see that they are ignoring the key subjects of the country…the whole Dalit community in India could witness a historic seen if K Suresh were appointed as Pro-tem Speaker…today, BJP has not just neglected Congress, INDIA alliance and K Suresh but the whole Dalit community…”

Akhilesh Yadav, Dimple Yadav, and all other MPs of Samajwadi Party arrived at the Parliament this morning, carrying a copy of the Constitution of India.

Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandhopadhyay, Kalyan Banerjee, and Sougata Roy stated that the Modi Government has violated the Constitution. “We demand to protect the constitution of the country… Agreements happen between India and Bangladesh but they do not call the West Bengal government, and do everything one-sidedly…We have to protect it from the first day of this 18th Lok Sabha…” said TMC MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay.

“We are protesting because the provisions of the Constitution have been violated. The Constitution has been violated by the Narendra Modi Government. The way the pro-tem speaker has been appointed is a clear violation of the Constitutional provision and clear violation of the earlier precedences…” said TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee.

“We are opposing BJP’s efforts to destroy the Constitution, to amend it beyond recognition,” TMC MP Sougata Roy said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar slammed the leaders of the INDIA bloc and said that the Opposition has got more seats this time. So, they are raising their voice on every issue. “Bhartruhari Mahtab is a senior parliamentarian. He is an elected MP consecutively for the 7th time. They are demanding K. Suresh to be appointed as pro-tem Speaker. He has been elected for the 8th time, but his serving period is non-consecutive… Congress has breached the conventions a lot of times. Those who had imposed emergency should not talk about the conventions,” he added.