BJP MP Om Birla and Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh filed nominations for the Lok Sabha Speaker election after talks between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc failed. This marks the first time in history that the Lok Sabha will witness an election for the Speaker’s post.
The Opposition had agreed to support the government-backed candidate, Om Birla, on the condition that the deputy Speaker must be a member of the INDIA bloc. However, the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.
Earlier today, Union Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh reached out to the Opposition. However, minutes before the nomination deadline, Congress’s KC Venugopal and DMK’s TR Baalu walked out of Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse NDA’s nominee.
KC Venugopal later stated that the government was non-committal on giving the deputy Speaker’s post to the Opposition.
Kodikunnil Suresh, according to the INDIA bloc, is the senior most member of parliament. He recently won the Lok Sabha elections for the eighth time. Suresh is a Dalit leader from Kerala, and the Opposition had proposed him for the deputy Speaker role.
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the INDIA bloc would support the NDA’s candidate if it agreed to give the deputy Speaker post to the Opposition.
