Pro-Tem Chairman Controversy Overshadows 18th Lok Sabha SessionPro-Tem Chairman Controversy Overshadows 18th Lok Sabha Session As the 18th Lok Sabha convenes its first session on Monday, newly elected members will begin taking oaths. However, the session is marred by controversy surrounding the appointment of BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem chairman. The decision has drawn criticism from the Opposition, particularly the Congress, which alleges that its MP K Suresh is being overlooked for the post. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has defended the appointment, stating that Mahtab’s seven consecutive terms as a Lok Sabha member make him eligible. Suresh, on the other hand, has served four non-consecutive terms. President Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath to Mahtab on Monday at Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will then preside over the Lok Sabha proceedings, which will begin with a moment of silence and the tabling of the list of elected members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be called upon to take the oath as a member of the House. Mahtab will then administer oaths to a panel of speakers appointed to assist him until the election of the Speaker on June 26. The session will also feature an address by President Murmu to the joint sitting of both Houses on June 27.
NEW DELHI,
During the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha beginning Monday, newly elected members will take oath, followed by the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses on June 27 . The appointment of BJP leader and seven-year member Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem chairman is likely to cast a shadow on the session. The move has drawn criticism from the Opposition, which alleged that Congress MP K Suresh’s claim to the post was being overlooked by the government.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that Mahtab has had seven continuous terms as a Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post, while Suresh lost elections in 1998 and 2004, making his current term the fourth consecutive term in the Second Room is. Previously, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999. On Monday, President Droupadi Murmu will administer oath to Mahtab as chairman pro-tem of the LS at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Mahtab will then reach Parliament House and call the Lok Sabha at 11 am to order. The proceedings begin with members observing a moment’s silence on the occasion of the first meeting of the 18th Lok Sabha.
This will be followed by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh placing the list of members elected to the House on the table of the House. Mahtab will then call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the Lok Sabha, to take oath as a member of the House of Representatives. The Speaker pro tem will then administer the oath of office to the panel of Speakers appointed by the President to assist him in carrying out the work of the House until the election of the Speaker. The President has appointed Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), TR Baalu (DMK), Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC) to help Mahtab take oath.
