Union Minister and LJP (R) leader Chirag Paswan today questioned the opposition INDIA bloc’s approach to the Lok Sabha Speaker post. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, he said that the way the opposition has come up with conditions to support the NDA nominee for the speaker post instead of the Deputy Speaker’s post is not right. Mr Paswan said he doesn’t remember if there was any election for the post of Speaker after independence. He added that even if there are elections, it is sure that Mr Om Birla will emerge victorious.
Union Minister and TDP leader Ram Mohan Naidu said it is not a good thing to keep conditions, as democracy does not work on conditions. He said the government reached out to the opposition over the issue, but they put up a condition that they wanted the Deputy Speaker post. He added that there has never been a convention to support the speaker post on a conditional basis. He accused the opposition of doing politics over it.
Meanwhile, the opposition nominee for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, K. Suresh, said there has been a convention that the Speaker will be of the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker will be given to the opposition. He added that the BJP-led government denied the opposition the Deputy Speaker post in the last two terms of the Lok Sabha, saying that Congress is not the recognised opposition. He added that now Congress is a recognised opposition party, and the Deputy Speaker post is an opposition right, but the government is not ready to give it.
