LS session: Row over Mahtab's appointment as pro-tem speaker to cast shadow
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha beginning Monday will see oath-taking by newly elected members followed by election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu's address to joint sitting of both the Houses on June 27.
The row over appointment of BJP leader and seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem speaker is likely to cast shadow over the session. The move has drawn flak from the opposition, which alleged that the claim of Congress member K Suresh to the post was overlooked by the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that Mahtab has had seven uninterrupted terms as Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post, while Suresh lost elections in 1998 and 2004 which makes his current term as the fourth straight one in the lower house. Earlier, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999.
On Monday, President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha