The seven-term Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed pro tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Thursday.
Opposition leaders have raised questions about the President's decision to nominate Mahtab for the pro-tem speaker position and why the Narendra Modi administration overlooked the tradition of appointing Kodikunnil Suresh, the longest-serving Congressman with eight terms, as the senior-most member of the parliament.
Who Became Pro-tem Speaker?
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Thursday that BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Rijiju announced Mahtab's appointment as the Lower House's Speaker Protem on X (previously Twitter), stating that he will carry out the presiding officer functions of the Lok Sabha till a Speaker is elected.
Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member, Lok Sabha has been appointed as Speaker Protem by the President of India under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till election of the Speaker. https://t.co/3eQo6kjMGI
— LOK SABHA (@LokSabhaSectt) June 20, 2024
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister further said that the Speaker Protem will receive assistance from K Suresh, T R Baalu, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Radha Mohan Singh, and Radha Mohan Singh, members of the Lok Sabha.
“Members of Lok Sabha under Article 99 of the Constitution to assist Speaker Protem in Oath/Affirmation to newly elected Members of 18th Lok Sabha till election of the Speaker," he wrote in the post.
Who is Bhartruhari Mahtab?
Prominent in Odisha's political scene, Bhartruhari Mahtab has served seven terms as a Lok Sabha member.
Mahtab joined the BJP in March, just before the elections, having previously been associated with the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He was honored with the 2017 Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for his contributions to Lok Sabha discussions.
Responsibility of Pro-tem Speaker
A pro-tem speaker is someone who is chosen to carry out the responsibility of a speaker until the house elects its speaker by voting.
As the Lok Sabha's presiding officer, the Speaker is responsible for a number of important tasks pertaining to the daily operations of the House.
Since it will take time for the nomination procedure and voting for the Speaker post, a pro-tem Speaker is chosen to carry out the Speaker's responsibilities, such as administering the oath of office to Members of Parliament. Apart from that, the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker is also handled by the Pro-tem Speaker. The Pro-tem Speaker's position expires upon the election of a new Speaker.
"For the time being" or "temporarily" is what the term "pro-tem" implies. Despite the absence of any reference to the "pro-tem" position in the Constitution, the "Handbook on the Working of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs" refers to the "Appointment and Swearing in of Speaker pro-tem."
How did Opposition Leaders React to Mahtab's Appointment?
The appointment of Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha was met with dissatisfaction from Congress leaders.
Congress Senior Leader Jairam Ramesh stated that it is customary for the Member of Parliament who has served the most terms to be appointed as Protem Speaker during the first two days of the oath-taking ceremony for all freshly elected MPs.
He argued that Kodikunnil Suresh of the Indian National Congress was the rightful candidate for this post. The two longest-serving members of the Lok Sabha are Virendra Kumar of the BJP and Kodikunnil Suresh of the INC. Since Virendra Kumar is on the list of Cabinet Ministers, it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the pro-tem Speaker.
"Instead, a 7-term MP, Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed Speaker Protem. He was a BJD MP for 6 terms and is now a BJP MP," added INC Leader Jairam Ramesh.
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