New Delhi : With the allocation of ministerial portfolios in the new BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government completed, the focus has now shifted to electing the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. After a pro-tem or temporary Speaker administers the oath to newly-elected MPs during a Special Session, the Speaker will be the presiding officer of the Lower House of Parliament.
The Special Session of Parliament is slated to commence on June 24 to elect the Lok Sabha Speaker. Sources said for the first two days new Members of Parliament will be taking their oaths followed by election of the Speaker. The session will go on till July 3.
The Lok Sabha Speaker’s post has become a prized catch as the NDA parties, both TDP and JD (U), are eyeing the chair. In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the BJP was only able to bag 240 seats, and fell short of the 272 mark.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the presiding officer of the Lower House should have experience in handling parliamentary work as well as ability to conduct proceedings smoothly by coordinating with both the ruling and Opposition benches.
“The Lok Sabha Speaker’s job is to smoothly run the House in coordination with the ruling party and the Opposition. In my opinion, the Lok Sabha Speaker should be a little experienced. S/he should have experience in handling parliamentary work. If such a person is found for the post, it will be a very good thing,” she said.
As the BJP lacks a majority in the new Lok Sabha, it will need to get its allies, especially the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United), on board to decide on the Speaker’s post. Congress led INDIA Bloc constituent, AAP, asked the TDP and JD(U) on Monday to ensure the Lok Sabha Speaker is from one of the two parties, and said this would be in their interests as well as that of the Constitution and democracy.
Six newly elected MLAs take oath in Himachal
Ranjeet Rana (Sujanpur),Anuradha Rana (Lahaul-Spiti),Sudhir Sharma (Dharamsala)
Of the six legislators, four from Gagret, Kutlehar, Sujanpur and Lahaul-Spiti belong to the Congress, thereby increasing the party’s strength in the Vidhan Sabha from 34 to 38. Two seats of Dharamsala and Barsar in Hamirpur were won by the BJP.
Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Rakesh Kalia (Gagret), Vivek Sharma (Kutlehar)
Shimla : The number of women MLAs in the Assembly has gone up to two with the victory of Anuradha Rana, the newly elected MLA from Lahaul-Spiti. The lone woman MLA in the House till now was Reena Kashyap from the Pachhad.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar, ministers and MLAs were present on the occasion.
Later, while interacting with the media, Sukhu said the claim of the BJP to form government in the state had failed as people had elected four Congress candidates in the Assembly byelections. The Congress has consolidated its position in the Vidhan Sabha by raising number of its MLAs to 38.
Sukhu said his government would continue its endeavour to make Himachal self-reliant. “The people of the state have rejected the politics of horse-trading as four turncoat MLAs had faced defeat in the byelections,” said Sukhu. The Congress is ready for the upcoming Assembly byelections for which the candidates would be finalised shortly, he said.
With the four belonging to ruling Congress, the strength of MLAs of the party has risen to 38 in the 68-member Assembly whose strength has been reduced to 65 members after the resignations of 3 Independent MLAs
Bypolls were necessitated after six Congress MLAs cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections against the party’s nominee. The Congress won four of the six seats while the BJP won two seats
The Election Commission on Monday announced bypolls to three more Assembly constituencies on July 10 due to the resignation of the incumbent members, all Independents
