New Delhi:
After Rahul Gandhi’s fiery speech in Parliament yesterday, in which he launched a scathing attack on BJP – large portions of which have been expunged from official records – the stage is set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated response

Here are 10 points on this big story:

New Delhi:

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chided Congress member Deepender Hooda over certain remarks as Shashi Tharoor chanted ‘Jai Hind, Jai Samvidhan (constitution)’ after taking oath as a member of the House.

“He is already taking oath on the Constitution,” Mr Birla commented when opposition members chanted ‘Jai Samvidhan’ as Mr Tharoor took oath as Lok Sabha member.

At this point, Mr Hooda, a member from Rohtak, said the Speaker should not be objecting to this.

“Don’t give me any advice on what I should or should not object to. Take your seat,” the Speaker said, addressing Mr Hooda.

Reacting to the development, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wondered whether one cannot say ‘Jai Samvidhan’ in Parliament.

“People from the ruling party were not stopped when they raised unparliamentary and unconstitutional slogans in Parliament, but when the opposition MPs raised ‘Jai Samvidhan’ slogans, they were objected to,” she said in a post on X.

“The anti-Constitution sentiment that emerged during the elections has now taken a new form, which seeks to weaken our Constitution,” Ms Gandhi said.

“Will the Constitution, on the basis of which Parliament functions, on which every member takes oath, which gives protection of life and livelihood, be opposed to suppress the voice of the opposition?” the Congress general secretary asked.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said that he hoped that actions like suspension of MPs would not be taken in the 18th Lok Sabha. Speaking shortly after NDA’s Om Birla was re-elected as the Lok Sabha speaker, Mr Yadav said he believed that the BJP MP would be impartial towards the opposition and give its leaders equal opportunity.

“I congratulate you and extend you best wishes on behalf of all my colleagues. The post that you are occupying has glorious traditions attached to it. We believe that this will continue without any discrimination and as Lok Sabha Speaker you will give equal opportunities and respect to every member and party,” he said. 

ALSO READ | PM Praises Speaker Om Birla: “Key Bills Passed Under Your Leadership”

“Impartiality is a great responsibility of this great position… We expect that no public representative’s voice will be stifled, nor will an action like expulsion take place again,” he said.

Mr Yadav was apparently referring to the unprecedented suspension of more than 100 MPs during the Winter Session of Parliament last year.

“लोकसभा के नवनिर्वाचित अध्यक्ष जी को मैं बहुत-बहुत बधाई और शुभकामनाएं देना चाहता हूं। उम्मीद है लोकसभा के अध्यक्ष के रूप में आप हर सांसद और हर दल को बराबरी का मौका और सम्मान देंगे, निष्पक्षता इस महान पद की जिम्मेदारी है, किसी भी जनप्रतिनिधि की आवाज दबाई न जाए।”

– श्री अखिलेश… pic.twitter.com/oJEOc0UMVq

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) June 26, 2024

“Your control is on the Opposition but it should be on the ruling side too. The House should function on your signals and not the other way round,” he said.

“I hope that you would respect the Opposition as much as you respect the ruling dispensation and let them present their side,” Mr Yadav said.

Rahul Gandhi’s Similar Appeal To Lok Sabha Speaker

Speaking before Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also made a similar appeal to Om Birla and said that “it is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House”.

“I am confident that you will allow us to speak. The question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice is being allowed to be heard. So the idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi said.

LIVE: Welcoming the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha https://t.co/NvAdTFvoyP

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 26, 2024

“We are confident that by allowing the Opposition to speak, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution,” Mr Gandhi, who is also named as the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said.

ALSO READ | PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi Shake Hands As They Welcome New Lok Sabha Speaker

Mr Birla, a three-time BJP MP from Rajasthan’s Kota, was elected Lok Sabha Speaker for the second consecutive time on Wednesday after he won the election by a voice vote.

New Delhi:

Today’s election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, already tilted in the government’s favour, can push the Opposition further down, with five of its 232 MPs yet to take oath. The oath pending, they cannot vote in the election, sources have told NDTV.

The list includes stalwarts like Congress’s Shashi Tharoor and Trinamool Congress’s actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha.

There are also a few others — Deepak Adhikari and Nurul Islam of Trinamool Congress and Afzhal Ansari of the Samajwadi Party and two Independents. It is not yet known why the oath of some of these leaders is pending.

Afzhal Ansari is the elder brother of criminal-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari. Sentenced to four years in prison, his jail term was put on hold by the Allahabad High Court in view of the election.

The case will be heard when the court opens in July. If the court upholds his sentence, he will lose his membership of parliament.

Victory in Speaker election is based on the number of MPs present and voting – which means the absence of these seven MPs will bring down the total number and therefore the halfway mark.

While the Opposition won 232 seats, it will miss five MPs in its ranks, bringing it down to 227 – assuming the rest turn up and vote. The majority mark will stand at 269.

The NDA, already with 293 MPs, is also expected to have the support of the four MPs of YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress, which, like Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, had lent issue-based support to the government.

Now, routed in the Odisha assembly election, the BJD has said it will not provide any support to the BJP. But the YSR Congress, though trounced by BJP ally Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, is sticking to its stance.

For the BJP, which already has enough MPs in its corner to ensure a victory of Om Birla — who is contesting against Opposition candidate K Suresh for a second stint at the job — the question is one of optics.

The BJP is also working to bring Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Akali Dal, Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, and Shillong MP Ricky Andrew Syngkon on board. With their support, the party aims to surpass the psychologically significant threshold of 300 seats.

The party, unlike in 2014 and 2019, has been unable to achieve majority on its own and is dependent on Mr Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United to keep its head above the halfway mark. A decisive victory in the Lok Sabha is expected to boost morale in the party camp.

New Delhi:

Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh – a late entrant in the Lok Sabha Speaker race – has accused the government of “breaking convention” regarding the naming of an opposition leader as the Deputy Speaker of the House. “We tried for a consensus but the ruling party… they are not ready. Consensus means, if we support Speaker, then they should give Deputy’s post to opposition,” he told NDTV.

Mr Suresh was also asked about the futility of contesting an election for the Speaker’s position – given s/he is elected by simple majority and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance can count, potentially on over 300 votes. “Numbers are not the point. Winning or losing is a different matter.”

“The point is, there is a convention in Lok Sabha… a convention the government is breaking. There is a system for the Speaker’s post (referring to the opposition’s argument that the Deputy Speaker needs to be from a non-ruling party to ensure balance) and that has been broken…” he told NDTV.

Mr Suresh also rubbished the BJP-led NDA’s claim the opposition is indulging in “pressure tactics”.

“We are not pressurising… we are only asking for our right. Deputy Speaker is the opposition’s right… that is all we are doing. If they are not ready to do even that…” he said shrugging his shoulders.

Mr Suresh also referred to the row over the Pro Tem Speaker’s post, which the Congress and the opposition had expected would be handed to him given his status as one of the senior-most MPs.

There was drama in Parliament this morning after the BJP-led NDA government reached out to the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc to build consensus to re-appoint Kota MP Om Birla as Speaker.

READ | Government vs Opposition On Speaker, First Contest In Decades

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju met INDIA bloc leaders, including the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, and were the opposition wanted the Deputy Speaker’s post.

READ | In Speaker Row, Rajnath Singh’s Call, Congress’ Deputy Reply

Sources, however, told NDTV the BJP said a decision on his deputy would be taken later.

The opposition, however, refused to play ball and, as the clock ticked down to the noon deadline, whispers emerged that the Congress’ K Suresh would be offered as an alternative to Om Birla.

And so it happened; as visuals showed senior leaders from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance accompanying Mr Birla to file his papers, it was confirmed that Mr Suresh had submitted his name.

This means, for the first time in decades, there will be a formal election to pick the Speaker.

READ | Om Birla To Be Speaker Again, BJP-Led Govt Sticks To Continuity

Meanwhile, in the inevitable back-and-forth that followed the opposition’s decision, BJP sources told NDTV efforts were made to build consensus but the opposition responded with “pressure politics”.

Sources said the Congress’ KC Venugopal and TR Baalu of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK insisted on a commitment from the BJP – one to the effect the Deputy Speaker would be an opposition MP.

Earlier, while the INDIA bloc was waiting on the BJP’s response, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi referred to media reports that quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the opposition to work “constructively”.

“Today newspapers reported that PM Modi said the opposition should cooperate constructively. Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and asked him to extend support… entire opposition said we will support but convention is Deputy Speaker should be from our side. Rajnath Singh said he would call back… but he has not yet…PM is asking for cooperation but our leader is getting insulted…”

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New Delhi:

The BJP’s ruling coalition and the Congress’ INDIA opposition bloc will go head-to-head Wednesday in a battle for the Speaker’s post – arguably one of the most important in a parliamentary democracy and to be held for the first time since 1952 – after the two failed to agree a division of seats.

The election will see the BJP’s Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota in Rajasthan, up against the Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Kerala’s Mavelikara.

Mr Birla is likely to win given the BJP-led alliance’s majority; the Lok Sabha Speaker is elected by a simple majority of MPs voting and the ruling coalition can call on 293 votes to the INDIA bloc’s 232.

There was much drama this morning – ahead of the noon deadline to file nominations – as the BJP sought the opposition’s consensus over the re-appointment of Mr Birla as the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju were so tasked.

Mr Singh and Mr Rijiju met INDIA bloc leaders, including the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge, and were told consensus was not a problem, so long as the Deputy Speaker’s post is allotted to the opposition.

The deputy’s chair is traditionally reserved for an opposition MP to ensure a balanced House.

The post was not filled in the second Modi government (2019-2024), but in the first (2014-2019), it was awarded to an ally of the ruling BJP – the AIADMK’s M Thambidurai held the position.

Unfortunately for the BJP, the meeting with the opposition leaders did not go as hoped; the INDIA bloc said it was ready to support Mr Birla’s candidate providing it was given the deputy’s post.

Sources told NDTV the BJP was not forthcoming on this demand; the party reportedly wanted immediate consensus for Mr Birla and said a decision on his deputy would be taken later.

The opposition, however, refused to play ball and, as the clock ticked down to the noon deadline, whispers emerged that the Congress’ K Suresh would be offered as an alternative to Om Birla.

And so it happened; as visuals showed senior leaders from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance accompanying Mr Birla to file his papers, it was confirmed that Mr Suresh had submitted his name.

In the inevitable back-and-forth to follow, BJP sources told NDTV efforts had been made to build consensus with an opposition that responded with “pressure politics”. Sources claimed the Congress’ KC Venugopal and TR Baalu of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK insisted on a commitment from the BJP – one to the effect that the Deputy Speaker would be a member of the INDIA grouping.

Sources in the BJP, which was unwilling to offer such an assurance, have now blamed the opposition’s “lack of commitment led to a failure of consensus”.

New Delhi:

After days of uncertainty over the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, the NDA has decided to nominate Om Birla for the post again. BJP’s Om Birla was the Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha. Sources said that Mr Birla will file his nomination at 11.30 am today.

The opposition INDIA bloc is unlikely to contest the post and Mr Birla is likely to be elected unopposed, sources said. A Lok Sabha Speaker is elected by a simple majority of MPs voting.

The BJP, thanks to brute majorities after the 2014 and 2019 elections, was unchallenged in nominating Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla to the post. This time, though, it doesn’t quite have the numbers; Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is the single-largest in Parliament with 240 seats but is 32 short of a majority, meaning it relies on Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP to remain in power.

However, the Opposition has demanded that they be given the choice to pick the deputy speaker. According to sources, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has made it clear to senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches. The Congress chief has said that while the Oppositions wants consensus too, healthy traditions must be followed, the sources added.

Earlier today, Mr Birla held talks with PM Modi ahead of day 2 of the Parliament.

Om Birla has been associated with the BJP since his early days as a student leader. He currently serves as an MP from the Kota-Bundi constituency in Rajasthan and was reelected for a second consecutive term in the recently held Lok Sabha elections. Previously, he served three terms as a legislator in the Rajasthan Assembly.

In 2019, Birla was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, becoming the first MP from Rajasthan to hold the position. His selection was seen as a surprise by many, but he has been praised for his ability to take everyone along.

New Delhi:

The government has fielded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to build consensus on the choices for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker post, sources have said.

The senior BJP leaders, it is learnt, have spoken to top Opposition leaders — Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, DMK leader MK Stalin and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee — on this subject. Talks are also being held with key NDA allies Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal United, sources have said.

The deadline to file nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is 12 pm today and an election, if any, will be held tomorrow. All Speakers so far have been elected unanimously and an election, if it happens, will be a first.

The BJP is tight-lipped about its choice for the key post, but there is a buzz that Om Birla, who served as Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, may be repeated. Mr Birla also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning. In fact, Bhartruhari Mahtab, the pro-term speaker, is also being seen as a frontrunner.

Another post under the spotlight is that of the Deputy Speaker. This position is traditionally given to the Opposition. However, the BJP had appointed its ally AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. Since 2019, the post is vacant.

In both the 16th and the 17th Lok Sabha, there was no Leader of the Opposition, as the Congress did not have enough numbers. But this time, the Opposition has posted a good show in the general election, with the Congress winning 99 seats. So the party, backed by its allies in the INDIA Opposition bloc, will be pushing for the Deputy Speaker’s post.

In fact, according to Congress sources, Mr Kharge has already made it clear to Mr Singh that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches. The Congress chief has said that while the Oppositions wants consensus too, healthy traditions must be followed, the sources added.

New Delhi:
The first session of Parliament after the Lok Sabha elections will begin today, with the newly-elected MPs – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi – taking oath.

1. BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab will be administered the oath as the Pro-Tem Speaker by President Droupadi Murmu, who then will call upon the Prime Minister to take oath as the member of the House.

2. The row over the appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker is expected to cast a shadow over the proceedings. The post of Pro Tem Speaker – a temporary one — traditionally goes to the senior most member of parliament.

3. The Congress – which was expecting Kodikunnil Suresh, a Dalit leader and an eight-time MP from Kerala, to be named Pro-Tem Speaker – has criticisied the BJP over the appointment of Mr Mahtab.

4. The Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26. Until a new Speaker is elected, the Pro-Tem Speaker presides over the first few sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the election for the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to announce the new Speaker’s name on Wednesday, two days after the first sitting of the newly elected 18th Lok Sabha. Once the Speaker is elected – by a simple majority, meaning the BJP’s pick is unlikely to fail – the Pro-Tem’s post ceases to exist.

6. The Opposition is also expected to raise the alleged irregularities in competitive exams NEET and NET. Amid an escalating row, the Centre on Saturday replaced National Testing Agency Director General Subodh Singh and set up a seven-member panel to review the agency’s functioning and recommend exam reforms.

7. The government has also operationalised a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. A maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders are some of the tough measures under the law.

8. The Congress last week held protests across the country over the exam fiasco, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said he will raise the issue in parliament and the opposition will put pressure on the government to ensure justice for students.

9. President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 27. She may outline the new government’s roadmap for the next five years.

10. This session will conclude on July 3 and reassemble for the monsoon session on July 22.

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New Delhi:
The first session of Parliament after the Lok Sabha elections will begin today, with the newly-elected MPs – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi – taking oath.

Here are the top 10 updates on this big story