INDIA Bloc Challenges NDA for Lok Sabha Speaker’s Position

The INDIA bloc has nominated Congress leader K Suresh for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s position, challenging NDA's nominee Om Birla. Leaders K C Venugopal and T R Baalu walked out of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office over the refusal to commit the Deputy Speaker's position to the opposition.

In a sharp move, the INDIA bloc has put forward Congress leader K Suresh as its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's position, setting the stage for a confrontation with the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). This decision comes amid accusations that the NDA is not adhering to the convention of allotting the Deputy Speaker's role to the opposition.

Tensions soared on Tuesday as Congress's K C Venugopal and DMK's T R Baalu exited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's office, protesting against the NDA's refusal to guarantee the Deputy Speaker's post for the opposition. Venugopal accused the BJP of not committing to this customary practice.

Despite efforts from Union ministers Amit Shah, J P Nadda, and Singh to sway opposition leaders to support the NDA's candidate, Om Birla, their endeavors were unsuccessful. NDA representatives, including Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh, criticized the Congress for imposing conditions, stating that the ruling alliance was open to discussing the Deputy Speaker's election at a later date.

Nominations saw fervent activity with over 10 sets filed for Birla, backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers and allies. Conversely, three sets of nominations supported Suresh, an acclaimed eight-term MP and Dalit leader.

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