Paper leaks to pro tem Speaker issue: 18th LS set for combative 1st session

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Friday accused the Opposition, especially the Congress, of “spreading lies” and “misleading” people by stoking controversy over the naming of Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.

The INDIA bloc said the government was flouting parliamentary norms by ignoring the claims of the Congress’ K Suresh to be pro-tem Speaker. Suresh, into his eighth term, is the seniormost member of the Lok Sabha, not Mahtab, who is into his seventh term, said the Congress. The government’s attitude was “confrontational” and betrayed its intent to continue with its “bulldozer politics”, said party leader Jairam Ramesh.

Ramesh alleged the BJP-led NDA picked Mahtab over Suresh since the latter was a Dalit. The Trinamool Congress’ (TMC’s) Derek O'Brien said the BJP was trying to show that nothing has changed in this term, but much has. “This is not a BJP government but an NDA government,” he said.

The war of words indicated that the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, which begins on Monday, is likely to be combative. During the session, the INDIA bloc will demand a “parliamentary review” of the three criminal laws that will be rolled out from July 1. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a parliamentary review of the three laws for ethical and practical reasons. The Opposition will also raise the issues of the recent railway accident and alleged leaks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and UGC–NET examinations.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress for “spreading lies” and “misleading” people. “Do you think such an argument is even valid,” the minister shot back when asked about the Congress’ claims that Suresh was ignored for the post because he was a Dalit. We expected the Parliament proceedings to start on a good note. But, even before the start of the first Parliament session, the Congress resorted to spreading lies and misleading everyone through social media posts,” Rijiju said.

Rijiju added that Mahtab had been picked as he had had the longest uninterrupted tenure as a member of the Lower House. While Mahtab was successively elected for seven terms, the minister said, the Congress’ Suresh had two breaks during his eight terms, in 1998 and 2004. Rijiju said the BJP's Virendra Kumar was pro-tem Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, even as the party's Maneka Gandhi was the seniormost MP. Virendra Kumar had had successive terms, while there was a break in Gandhi's tenures. The minister said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had ignored the seniority principle in 2004 when it appointed eight-term member Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil as pro-tem Speaker, ignoring nine-term MP George Fernandes. Even P M Sayeed and Giridhar Gamang’s claims to the post of pro-tem Speaker were ignored by the Congress on earlier occasions, Rijiju said.

Trinamool hopeful of better coordination

According to sources in the TMC, the party is hopeful of better coordination with the Congress during the 18thLok Sabha. The Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was also the leader of his party in the Lok Sabha, had proved an irritant in the ties between the two parties during the 17th Lok Sabha, a source said. Chowdhury lost the Lok Sabha elections from his Baharampur seat in West Bengal to the TMC’s Yusuf Pathan.