Lok Sabha Session Highlights: BJP, Congress issues 3-line whips asking all MPs to be present in House tomorrow

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NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he advised his allies in the INDIA bloc that the Lok Sabha Speaker should be elected unopposed, but the Opposition must get the deputy Speaker's post which has been a parliamentary convention.

Traditionally, the Speaker's post went to the ruling party and the deputy Speaker's post to the Opposition, but this did not happen in the last ten years of the Narendra Modi government, the veteran leader told reporters here.

"In Parliament, non-BJP leaders sought my opinion and I advised them to tell the government that we agree to hold the Speaker's election unopposed.

"Simultaneously, the deputy Speaker's post must go to the Opposition," the former Union minister added.

Commenting on the elections to the post of Lok Sabha speaker, BJP MP Tejaswi Surya says, “All efforts were made on the part of the NDA to arrive at a consensus but the opposition adopted a very confrontational attitude and instead of coming together to elect a speaker unanimously, they have chosen to put up a candidate...

I hope Om Birla will emerge victorious and he will continue his work of upholding democracy...”

Independent MP Pappu Yadav says, “Why no re-examination for NEET? Why is Subodh Singh not being arrested? Who will talk about the youth? Nobody discussed NEET or special status for Bihar or development of the state. So, I said said Re-NEET...”

Commenting on Lok Sabha Speaker post issue, Congress MP KL Sharma says, "They (NDA) are not abiding by the Constitution. As the INDIA Alliance is strong right now, we will oppose the wrong...It is the tradition of a healthy democracy to give the Deputy Speaker post to the Opposition. So, they should do it."

After Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a three-line whip to all its Lok Sabha members to be present in the House tomorrow, i.e., June 26.

Independent MP from Bihar's Purnea, Pappu Yadav wears a t-shirt with the words 'ReNEET' on it as he takes oath as a member to the 18th Lok Sabha and concludes his oath by saying, "Re-NEET, special status for Bihar, Seemanchal Zindabad, Manavtavaad Zindabad, Bhim Zindabad, Samvidhan Zindabad".

“Speaker is not a party post; the Speaker represents the entire Parliament. Here the majority should be respected. In many states, the party which is in power has a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker but they (the opposition) want a decision should be taken on the Deputy Speaker beforehand, we say that a decision should be taken on Speaker first, when the matter of Deputy Speaker will come up, then it will be decided after sitting together, there is no consensus on this ...”

Congress issues a three-line whip to its party MPs in Lok Sabha to remain present in the House tomorrow, 26th June.

The elections for the post of the Speaker of Lok Sabha are set to be held tomorrow. K Suresh of Congress has been fielded by the Opposition, while the NDA named for LS speaker Om Birla.

After taking oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav says, "Our agenda will be to help the people from our constituency as much as possible..."

"For the last two days, we have been in contact with main Opposition parties, talked to their floor leaders regarding the post of Speaker. Since the Independence, there has not been an election for Speaker post. We want speaker to be elected unopposed and through consensus. In the NDA meeting, Congress and its leaders joined and talked to us. We appealed to them to support the Speaker candidate but they demanded Deputy Speaker post. We told it is not right to conduct both the election for Speaker and Deputy Speaker posts together. We want Speaker with consensus and then we will talk about Deputy Speaker. We request them for no election for Speaker."

Speaking on the upcoming election for the post of the Lok Sabha speaker, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Per tradition, elections were never contested for the post of Speaker as he was considered the guardian of the House...The ruling party used to take the post of Speaker and the post of Deputy Speaker was given to the Opposition...The ruling party never thinks of cooperation and the politics of confrontation started by BJP will continue.”

Leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet here Tuesday night to evolve a strategy for the Lok Sabha Speaker's election even as the Congress said the ball is in the government's court to bring about a consensus on the issue by offering the Opposition the deputy Speaker's post according to convention.

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, however, said his party was not consulted on fielding Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress as the INDIA bloc's joint nominee for the post, adding party chief Mamata Banerjee will take a decision on backing Suresh.

Commenting on AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi's ‘Jai Palestine’ chant while taking oath in Parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “We do not have any enmity with Palestine or any other country. While taking the oath is it proper for any member to raise the slogan praising another country...We will have to check the rules if it is appropriate...”

"I will vote. We want a speaker who would listen to both the ruling party leaders as well as Opposition leaders. Then only, people's issues will be raised," says Bhim Army Chief and MP Chandra Shekhar Azad.

Commenting on his concluding words while taking oath as member of 18^th Lok Sabha, AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi says, “Everyone is saying a lot of things...I just said ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine’...How it is against, show the provision in the Constitution...”

“There is a lot of difference in PM Modi’s words and actions. He only wants the opposition to compromise. If he wants everything to be done according to him then this opposition will not let that happen. This opposition is standing strong holding the Constitution in hands saying that you will have to follow the Constitution,” says Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi on the election for Lok Sabha Speaker.

Asaduddin Owaisi takes oath as a member of the 18th Lok Sabha; concludes his oath with the words, "Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine"

Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party's general secretary & party's candidate for the by-elections to Wayanad LS seat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrive at the Parliament. Rahul Gandhi will take oath as member of the 18th Lok Sabha today.

In the 17th Lok Sabha the least number of 16 percent bills were sent to Parliamentary Standing Committees and 35 percent of bills brought in Lok Sabha were passed within one hour, while 34 percent of the bills were passed within an hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says.

On Congress MP K Suresh filing nomination as INDIA bloc's candidate for LS Speaker post, party MP Dr Syed Naseer Hussain says, "Elections were never held till date, it is happening this time. The Government should not have let this happen. These elections are happening due to this government's dictatorial attitude, undemocratic behaviour and their attempt to undermine our Constitutional values and democratic traditions and conventions."

He adds, "The Government is trying to see to it that the Deputy Speaker is not from the Opposition. So, a lot of 'firsts' are happening. Constitution is being shredded; our conventions are being sidelined. So, elections too (for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker) are taking place for the first time."

BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said, "I appeal to the Opposition to elect the Speaker unanimously. The elections of Speaker should not be done on conditions. The Speaker belongs to all the parties. NDA candidate Om Birla has run the Parliament successfully for the last 5 years. Putting a condition that they will support our Speaker candidate only if the Deputy Speaker will be from their party, this is not right..."

Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "We are still waiting, if they are ready to give the Deputy Speaker post, we are ready to elect the NDA's candidate unanimously.Yesterday PM Modi told about consensus for the smooth functioning of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We are ready to support the Speaker suggested by the Govt's side provided they should also honour the Opposition."

"We have witnessed for the last few years that the Speakers will be from the Govt's side and the Deputy Speaker from the Opposition. When UPA was in power, we gave the Deputy Speaker to the NDA for 10 years. The convention is so in the Lok Sabha that the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is given to the Opposition. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge yesterday," he added.

"Mallikarjun Kharge said we are happy to support your candidate but we want the post of Deputy Speaker to which Rajnath Singh told him that we will consult PM Modi and revert," he further said.

BJP's Om Birla will fight it out with Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post after efforts to reach a consensus between the government and the opposition failed on Tuesday. Voting to take place tomorrow

Birla served as Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha as well and if he wins he would be the first person to get the post for the second term in 25 years. Before filing his nomination, Birla also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He has returned to the Lok Sabha for the third time from Kota in Rajasthan, Suresh, an eight-time MP from Kerala, said it is not about winning or losing, but about a convention that Speaker will be of ruling party and deputy speaker will be of opposition.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said "Today, we had to move the proposal for the post of the Speaker. Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah had a conversation with the leaders of the Opposition but they had a pre-condition to support our candidate for the Speaker. When they raised the issue of the post of Deputy Speaker, Rajnath Singh said he would have discussions again when the Deputy Speaker is decided."

"They (Opposition) are going to contest against us although we have the numbers, but this is against the Parliamentary traditions...I am making a request to the leaders of the Opposition to rethink their decision and give support to elect the Speaker unanimously," he added.

Ahead of the Rajya Sabha session, AAP nominates Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh as the leader of AAP Parliamentary Party in Rajya Sabha, while MP Raghav Chadha as deputy leader and ND Gupta as chief whip.

On Lok Sabha Speaker post, Union Civil Aviation Minister and TDP leader Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said, "It is not a good thing to keep conditions. Democracy does not work on conditions. And as far as the Speaker election is concerned, whatever should have been done by the NDA, they all did it. Specially Rajnath Singh ji, being a senior leader, reached out to everyone. He also reached out to the opposition and told them that we are proposing Om Birla ji's name, so your help is needed in this."

"So when it was their turn to help, they put up a condition that we would do it only if you give us this (Deputy Speaker post). There was never a convention to support Speaker on a conditional basis...They want to do politics in this too," he added.

Congress MP K Suresh said, "I have filed my nomination. It is the party's decision, not mine. There is a convention in Lok Sabha that the Speaker will be from the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker will be from the opposition... Deputy Speaker is our right. But they are not ready to give it to us."

"Till 11:50 am we were waiting for a response from the government, but they did not give any response. That is why we filed the nomination," he added.

The oath-taking of newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha resumed on Tuesday, the second day of the first session of the Lower House of Parliament.

Among the prominent members to be sworn in were former Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane, Supriya Sule of the NCP, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena.

On INDIA bloc fielding K Suresh for Lok Sabha post, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "...The Prime Minister says one thing and does something else, yesterday he said about consensus and today he is not ready to give even the post of Deputy Speaker, so if the same ego remains as before, then our struggle to save democracy and to save the dignity of the House will continue and that is why we have put Suresh's (candidature) from our side. It is a fight to tell the country that the opposition is aware, the opposition is vigilant..."

Congress MP K Suresh filed his nomination for the post of Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha

Congress's K Suresh to challenge NDA's Om Birla for Lok Sabha Speaker's post

Opposition considering fielding K Suresh as its candidate for Speaker's post, as per PTI.

Cong leader K C Venugopal says oppn will contest speaker's election, accuses govt of being non-committal on giving dy speaker's post to oppn

Oppositon likely to get deputy speaker's post, reported CNN-News18 quoting sources

SP Chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav said, "Everything will be out soon... The demand of the Opposition was that the Deputy Speaker (of the Lok Sabha) should be of the Opposition... Our party's opinion is also the same..."

BJP leader Om Birla met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

Birla is likely to file his nomination for the second consecutive term as per reports.

The opposition INDIA bloc is unlikely to contest the Lok Sabha Speaker's post and the NDA nominee is likely to be elected unopposed, news agency PTI reported ahead of filing of nomination.

However, the Opposition has demanded that they be given the choice to pick the deputy speaker.

"We have said to Rajnath Singh that we will support their Speaker (candidate) but the convention is that the post of Deputy Speaker to be given to opposition...," says Congress MP Rahul Gandhi

Union minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday led the ruling National Democratic Alliance's efforts in reaching out to opposition parties to build a consensus on the choice for the Lok Sabha Speaker.

As per reports, the senior BJP leader spoke to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Stalin among other opposition leaders in efforts to build a consensus.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which enjoys a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, gave little indication about its choice as it weighs its options and looks to deny the opposition any opportunity to mount a political attack.