Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi protest along with INDIA bloc leaders ahead of first session of 18th Lok Sabha

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrives at the Parliament, ahead of the commencement of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha today.

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with INDIA bloc leaders staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament holding copies of the Constitution. Ahead of this, Congress MP Manickam Tagore raised questions over the NDA government for appointing BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as a pro-tem speaker stating that eight-term Dalit MP K Suresh was ignored.

Speaking to ANI Tagore said, "The attitude of the government is still that of an arrogant government. They superseded a Dalit MP who is an 8-term MP. K Suresh should have been the pro-tem speaker. It is very unfortunate that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister has taken such a decision without any consultation with the opposition parties..." Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "The ruling party hasn't forgotten their haughtiness...we can see that they are ignoring the key subjects of the country...the whole Dalit community in India could witness a historic seen if K Suresh were appointed as Pro-tem Speaker...today, BJP has not just neglected Congress, INDIA alliance and K Suresh but the whole of Dalit community..."

Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee who also joined the protest said, "We are protesting because the provisions of the Constitution have been violated. The Constitution has been violated by the Narendra Modi government. The way the pro-tem speaker has been appointed is a clear violation of the Constitutional provision and clear violation of the earlier precedence..." Notably, seven-time MP Mahtab was on Monday sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. The oath was administered by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On June 26, the Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. This is the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha post the general elections, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) securing 293 seats and the INDIA bloc winning 234 and the Congress winning 99 seats. (ANI)

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