Mahtab will then reach Parliament House and call the Lok Sabha at 11 am to order | (Photo: PTI)
During the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha beginning Monday, newly elected members will take oath, followed by the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both Houses on 27 June.
The row over the appointment of BJP leader and seven-year member Bhartruhari Mahtab as speaker pro tem is likely to cast a shadow on the session. The move has drawn criticism from the Opposition, which alleged that the government had overlooked Congress MP K Suresh’s claim to the post.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that Mahtab has had seven continuous terms as a Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post, while Suresh lost elections in 1998 and 2004, making his current term the fourth consecutive term in the lower house is. Previously, he was elected a member of the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999.
On Monday, President Droupadi Murmu will swear in Mahtab as Speaker pro-tem of the Lok Sabha at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Mahtab will then reach Parliament House and call the Lok Sabha at 11 am to order.
The proceedings begin with members observing a moment’s silence on the occasion of the first meeting of the 18th Lok Sabha. This will be followed by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh placing the list of members elected to the lower house on the table of the House.
Mahtab will then call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the Lok Sabha, to take oath as a member of the House of Representatives.
The Speaker pro tem will then administer the oath of office to the panel of Speakers appointed by the President to assist him in carrying out the work of the House until the election of the Speaker on June 26.
The President has appointed Kodikunnil Suresh (Congress), TR Baalu (DMK), Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste (both BJP) and Sudip Bandyopadhyay (TMC) to assist Mahtab in taking oath/affirmation to the newly elected members of the Lok. sabha.
After the panel of chairmen, the speaker pro tem will take oath/affirmation as Lok Sabha members to the Council of Ministers. The members of the states will take the oath or affirmation in alphabetical order over the next two days.
The election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker will take place on Wednesday and the Prime Minister will present his Council of Ministers to the House soon after.
The President is expected to address the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on June 27. The debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s speech starts on June 28. The Prime Minister is expected to respond to the debate on July 2 or 3. .
It is expected that both Houses will take a short break and reconvene on July 22 for the presentation of the Union Budget.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 23, 2024 | 10:30 AM IST