President Droupadi Murmu appoints BJP's Bhartruhari Mahtab as Lok Sabha protem speaker

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha.

Updated on: Jun 20, 2024, 21:45:10 IST

By HT News Desk

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President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha.

“President is pleased to appoint Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member, Lok Sabha as Speaker Protem under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of Speaker till election of the Speaker,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju posted on X.

“The President is also pleased to appoint Shri Suresh Kodikunnil, Shri Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste and Shri Sudip Bandyopadhyay, 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,” Rijiju added.

ALSO READ: Navigating the Transition: The Role of Speaker Pro-Tem in the 18th Lok Sabha

Mahtab will take oath in front of President Murmu before he begins to discharge his duties as protem speaker. His role will be to oversee the swearing-in of the newly elected MPs.

Reacting on the appointment, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said,"By convention, the MP who has served the maximum terms is appointed Speaker Protem for the first two days when oath is administered to all newly elected MPs."

“The seniormost MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh (INC) and Virendra Kumar (BJP), both of who are now serving their 8th term. The latter is now a Union Minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem. 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,” the Congress leader added on X.

Mahtab, a seven-time MP, quit the Biju Janta Dal (BJD) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to join the BJP. He won Lok Sabha elections from Cuttack by more than 57,000 votes. The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls in Odisha by winning 20 of the total 21 seats in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, former chief minister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD had won 12 seats, BJP bagged 8 seats and Congress one.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24. The newly elected members will take oath/affirmation on June 24-25. The election of the Speaker is scheduled to take place on June 26.

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