Parliament session Day 2 updates: Highlights on June 25, 2024

The Lok Sabha session has been adjourned till June 26 at 11 a.m. The election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker will be held tomorrow.

Having failed to reach a consensus on the appointment of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Om Birla, the Opposition INDIA bloc has nominated Congress MP K. Suresh for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. 

The Opposition had been demanding the post of Deputy Speaker, however, with no clarity forthcoming from the BJP, the INDIA bloc has put forward Congress MP K. Suresh’s name for the Speaker’s post. 

On the other hand, BJP has nominated its Kota MP Om Birla for the Speaker’s post, who previously served as the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.

A day before the election for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a three-line-whip to its MPs to remain present in the House tomorrow from 11 a.m. onwards. The election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker will be held tomorrow.

Having failed to reach a consensus on the appointment of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Om Birla, the Opposition INDIA bloc has nominated Congress MP K. Suresh for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker.

PTI

Radical preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP-elect Amritpal Singh could not take oath as a member of Parliament as he is in jail in Assam, detained under the National Security Act. Twelve other MP-elects from Punjab were administered oath in Parliament on Tuesday. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha constituencies. After the Congress’ Gurjeet Singh Aujla took oath in Parliament, Singh’s name was called out but he was not present.

PTI

The Congress on June 25 issued a three-line whip to its MPs asking them to be present in Lok Sabha at 11 a.m. on June 26 during the election for the Speaker’s post. “Very important issue will be taken up in the Lok Sabha tomorrow i.e. Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

“All Members of Congress Party in the Lok Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the House from 11:00 a.m. onwards till the adjournment of the House on June 26, 2024, without fail and support the Party stand,” the whip issued by Congress chief whip K. Suresh said.

Mr. Suresh is also the joint candidate of the Opposition INDIA bloc for Speaker’s post. He takes on NDA’s Om Birla.

PTI

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav was sworn in as the Member of Parliament from Mainpuri on the second day of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 25. 

Dimple Yadav won the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 2,21,639 votes, defeating her nearest rival, the BJP’s Jaiveer Singh. 

In the 2019 general elections, the seat was won by Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav by a margin of 94,389 votes. 

The seat has been with Samajwadi Party since 1996, and its journey of victories has been marked by a series of electoral wins. 

ANI

BJP president J.P. Nadda reminded the Congress of the “dark days of Emergency” as he slammed the Opposition for fielding K. Suresh against the NDA’s Om Birla in the election for Lok Sabha Speaker.

Addressing an event at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, imposed by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975, Mr. Nadda accused the Congress of “hypocrisy and doublespeak” on the issue of the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election and said there is no space for democracy in the “mindset” of the main Opposition party.

Mr. Nadda asked if there had been any election for the Lok Sabha Speaker where the Opposition put a condition that the Deputy Speaker be decided first before reaching a consensus on the chair’s position.

PTI

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the Congress not to force a contest for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker as the presiding officer does not belong to any party.

Mr. Rijiju’s remarks came after Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh filed the nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker against the NDA nominee Om Birla, forcing a rare election to the post after 48 years.

“I appeal again that they should think about keeping in mind the dignity of the post of Speaker. We have the numbers but still, we are requesting that there should be no election for the post of Speaker because this post does not belong to any party,” the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

PTI

Leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet here Tuesday night to evolve a strategy for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s election even as the Congress said the ball is in the government’s court to bring about a consensus on the issue by offering the Opposition the Deputy Speaker’s post according to a convention. 

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, however, said his party was not consulted on fielding Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress as the INDIA bloc’s joint nominee for the post, adding party chief Mamata Banerjee will take a decision on backing Mr. Suresh. 

Sources said top leaders of the INDIA bloc would meet at 8 PM at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to chalk out its strategy. 

PTI

SP leader Awadhesh Prasad took oath as the new MP of Ayodhya, even as the Members in the Parliament could be heard chanting Jai Shri Ram. 

Mr. Prasad won the Faizabad seat, which includes Ayodhya, with a margin of almost 55,000 votes.

Mr. Prasad defeated the sitting BJP MP Lallu Singh by 54,567 votes. He was one of five victorious SP candidates from the Pasi community in an election where the party SP won 37 seats. 

Kodikunnil Suresh, the Opposition’s pick for the Lok Sabha speaker who will go up against the BJP’s Om Birla, is a Congress veteran, an eight-term MP and one whose election in 2009 was declared invalid by the Kerala High Court before being restored by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Birla is seeking his second term as the speaker of the Lower House of Parliament.

Mr. Suresh, 66, won from the Mavelikkara (SC) constituency in Kerala with a margin of just 10,000 votes.

His first name is derived from Kodikunnil, in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was born on June 4, 1962.

Mr. Suresh was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 and then again in the 1991, 1996 and 1999 elections. He lost the polls in 1998 and 2004.

In 2009, he won again but his victory was challenged by his nearest rival who alleged that Mr. Suresh, then a five-time MP, produced a fake caste certificate and that he was a Christian.

The Kerala High Court had declared his election invalid but the decision was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

Allowing the election petition of defeated candidate A.S. Anil Kumar of the CPI and two others, the High Court had ruled that Mr. Suresh was not a member of the ‘Cheramar’ community and thereby, not a Scheduled Caste.

The court also held that he was “disqualified” to contest from the Mavelikara constituency as it is reserved for Schedule Castes.

It found that Mr. Suresh had produced contradictory caste certificates issued by tehsildars of Kottarakara and Nedumangad.

Mr. Suresh, who first entered the Lok Sabha in 1989 from Adoor and subsequently thrice from the same constituency in 1991, 1996 and 1999, was declared elected from Mavelikkara with a margin of 48,046 votes in the 2009 election.

Adoor ceased to be a Lok Sabha constituency after the delimitation.

At that time, Mr. Suresh had blamed some sections within his party and Opposition parties for filing the case which he saw as a conspiracy.

The Congress leadership, however, stood behind him.

Mr. Suresh, who has an LLB degree, again won in 2014, 2019 and the just-concluded 2024 elections.

He has been a member of several Parliamentary committees and has served as the Congress State unit president for Kerala in the past. 

PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took oath as Rae Bareli MP. Taking the oath in the name of the Constitution, he said Jai Samvidhan. 

Mr. Gandhi won the ​Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh​ by a margin of 3,90,030 votes, bettering his mother Sonia Gandhi’s victory margin in 2019. 

Mr. Gandhi, decided to retain Rae Bareli, having won also Wayanad. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala in a bypoll. 

Congress MP from Amethi Kishori Lal also took oath, following Mr. Gandhi. Taking the oath in the name of God, Mr. Lal said long live India. Mr. Lal Sharma won the seat, defeating former BJP Minister Smriti Irani by a margin of over 1,67,000 votes. 

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BJP MP Chatrapal Singh Gangwar from Bareilly, while taking oath, said Jai Hindu Rashtra. 

Objecting to it, Opposition MP Premachandran was heard saying “How can he say that?” 

It won’t go on record, the Chair said. 

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, while taking oath in Urdu invoked Palestine stoking a controversy. While the Treasury Bench objected to it and sought it to be expunged, the Chair maintained that anything a member says beyond the oath will not go on record.

While being sworn is as an MP in the 18th Session of the Lok Sabha, Mr. Owaisi ended his oath with the words, “Jai Bhim, Jai Meem, Jai Telangana, Jai Palestine.”

All Congress MPs and some Opposition members were seen taking oath while displaying the Constitution. This is part of the INDIA bloc’s novel protest method. Since the 18th Lok Sabha was convened the Opposition members have been seen carrying a small version of the Constitution of India.

It may be recalled that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen carrying this book during his electoral campaign stating that the BJP would tamper with the Constitution if re-elected. 

While the INDIA bloc lost the elections, it is using the book as a way to remind the government that the Opposition still stands by its allegations.

Chandrashekhar Azad took oath on Tuesday. The Dalit leader said Jai Jawan Jai Kisan as he took his oath. 

Following his resounding victory in Nagina in the just-concluded elections, Mr. Azad garnered over 51% of votes. 

There were cases registered against him, including detention by Delhi Police for the Jama Masjid event for which police permission had been denied. 

Soon after the CAA stir, he founded the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), and this June became the party’s first Parliamentarian. 

Tripura’s BJP MP Biplab Kumar Deb took oath on Tuesday. 

Mr. Deb, a former Chief Minister, defeated his nearest rival Asish Kumar Saha of the Congress by over six lakh votes. 

Protem Speaker, meanwhile said only the oath would be taken into record and asked members to refrain from invoking anything or anyone. 

East Tripura Member Kriti Devi Debbarman who took oath after Mr. Mahtab’s announcement says Jai Mata Tripurasundari, Jai Bharat Mata. 

Hyderabad MP Owaisi took the oath on Tuesday, in the name of Allah. 

Mr. Owaisi won with a staggering margin of 3,38,087 votes. 

The challenger here was the BJP’s Kompella Madhavi Latha, whose gesture of shooting an arrow near a covered-up masjid in Siddiamber Bazaar on Ram Navami caused considerable controversy. 

R. Sudha, Mayiladuthurai MP, invoked the name of Congress MP and Rahul Gandhi when taking the oath. 

She called for the country to be united, as she said, “Jodo, Jodo, Bharat Jodo,”. 

Ms. Sudha hails from a family of Congress supporters in Gummidipoondi and is known for her ideological commitment towards the party. She marched along with party leader Rahul Gandhi during the entire Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanniyakumari to Kashmir.

The Congress on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his comments on the Emergency and accused him of enforcing an “undeclared emergency” in the last 10 years.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Prime Minister is raking up the past only to hide his failures.

He also said that PM Modi talks of consensus and cooperation but does just the opposite. 

“Narendra Modi ji, the country is looking forward to the future but you keep scratching the past to hide your failures. In the last 10 years, you made 140 crore Indians realise what ‘undeclared emergency’ is, which caused a deep trauma to democracy and the Constitution,” Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

“Breaking parties, toppling elected governments through the backdoor, misuse of agencies like ED, CBI, IT against 95 percent of opposition leaders, putting chief ministers in jail, and using the official machinery before elections and disturbing the level playing field, is this not undeclared emergency,” he said. 

Krishnagiri MP K. Gopinath took his oath in Telugu. 

A Congress member, he said, “Jai Tamil Nadu”.

The oath-taking of the MPs resumed after lunch. 

DMK MPs are taking oath in Tamil. They are all swearing in the name of the Constitution. Most of them have utilised the opportunity to invoke DMK president M.K. Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi Stalin.

While Kalanidhi Veeraswamy invoked Periyar and Mr. Stalin, Dayanidhi Maran invoked Periyar, Mr. Udhayanidhi and Karunanidhi. He also called for the ban of the NEET examination following the furore over malpractices.

Speaking on the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post controversy, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “We had a conversation with all the floor leaders of the Opposition regarding the post of the Speaker. The Speaker is not for a party, it is for the functioning of the House. The Speaker is elected unanimously. It is disheartening that Congress has nominated its candidate for the Speaker. No election has ever taken place for the post of the Speaker. 

Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress was fielded for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker as the INDIA bloc candidate on June 25. 

Congress put this condition that if they get the post of Deputy Speaker they will support our candidate for the Speaker’s post. This give and take of posts of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker is not right...”

Speaking on INDIA bloc fielding K. Suresh for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, Union Minister and BJP MP Piyush Goyal said, “They said first decide the name for Deputy Speaker then we will support the Speaker candidate. We condemn such politics. A good tradition would have been to choose the Speaker unanimously. The Speaker does not belong to any party or Opposition; he belongs to the entire House. Similarly, the Deputy Speaker also does not belong to any party or group; he belongs to the entire House and hence there should be consent of the House. Such conditions that only a particular person or from a particular party should be the Deputy Speaker, do not fit into any tradition of the Lok Sabha.”

Speaking on the election for Deputy Speaker’s post, Congress’ K. Suresh said, “There is a convention in Lok Sabha... the Speaker will be of the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker will be of the opposition. They denied us in the last two terms of the Lok Sabha, saying that you are not the recognised Opposition. Now, we are recognised Opposition. The Deputy Speaker post is our right, but they are not ready to give us. We were waiting for their reply, but they didn’t and that’s why we filed our nomination.”

Taking a dig at PM Modi’s address before the start of Parliament session on Monday when he spoke about “consensus both inside and outside the House”, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on June 25 said a contest for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is inevitable.

“Barely 24 hours after his hypocrisy-laden pravachan on consensus and cooperation the non-biological PM has made a contest for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker inevitable,” Mr. Ramesh wrote in a post on X.

“Convention has been that the Speaker is elected unanimously and the Deputy Speaker’s post goes to the Opposition,” he added.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Lalan Singh accused the Congress of putting up conditions, adding the ruling alliance was willing to discuss Opposition demand when the election for Deputy Speaker’s takes place.

Union ministers Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda besides Rajnath Singh tried to persuade Opposition leaders to endorse the NDA nominee Om Birla but in vain.

Sources said over 10 sets of nominations were filed in support of Mr. Birla’s candidature, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Shah, Singh and Nadda, and BJP allies like TDP, JD(U), JD(S) and LJP (R). - PTI

The oath-taking of newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha resumed on June 25, the second day of the first session of the Lower House of Parliament.

Among the prominent members to be sworn in were former Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane, Supriya Sule of the NCP, Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena.

Most of the members who were sworn in in the first hour of the day hail from Maharashtra and took the oath in Marathi while a few did it in English and Hindi. - PTI

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition will support the government on the Lok Sabha Speaker’s choice if the convention is followed and the Deputy Speaker’s post is given to the Opposition bloc. 

Mr. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants constructive cooperation but has not returned party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s call on the demand, as promised, which amounts to an insult.

“Union Minister Rajnath Singh had called Mallikarjun Kharge ji and has said that he will return his call, but it has not been done. While Modi ji wants constructive cooperation they are insulting our leader by not returning the call,” he told reporters.

Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress on June 25 filed the nomination for the post of Lok Sabha speaker as the INDIA bloc candidate.

Congress leader K.C. Venugopal said the Opposition will contest Speaker’s election and accused the govt. of being non-committal on giving Deputy Speaker’s post to the Opposition.

Senior Cabinet Minister Rajnath Singh had reached out to the Opposition leaders on behalf of the government in a bid to build consensus for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament. But, Mr. Venugopal and DMK’s T.R. Baalu walked out of Rajnath Singh’s office, refusing to endorse the NDA’s nominee for the Speaker’s post.

Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress on June 25 filed nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker as the INDIA bloc candidate. It’s the first time in the past three decades that there will be a contest for the Speaker’s post - Sandeep Phukan

Congress leader K.C. Venugopal on June 25 said the Opposition will contest Speaker’s election and accused the government of being non-committal on giving Deputy Speaker’s post to Oppositon.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called to discuss about the Speaker’s candidate last night. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told Mr. Singh that the Opposition wants the Deputy Speaker and is willing to support the NDA’s choice.

However, Mr. Singh has not reverted on Mr. Kharge’s demand until now. 

Rahul Gandhi said,”The whole country says Narendra Modi ji says something and does something else.”

- Sandeep Phukan.

Congress MP K. Suresh asserted that the Lok Sabha Speaker should be elected unanimously. He also accused the BJP of not taking the initiative to reach a consensus over the issue.

“The Speaker should be elected unanimously...According to the tradition of the House, the Speaker is elected unanimously. The BJP is not discussing with the Opposition; they have to take the initiative for consensus. Till now, they have not taken any initiative for consensus for the post of Speaker. If there is no election for the post of Speaker, then the Deputy Speaker will come to the Opposition. The leaders of the INDIA alliance have already made their stand clear.” Mr. Suresh said.

The post of Speaker, the constitutional and ceremonial head of the Lok Sabha, usually goes to the ruling alliance while a member of the Opposition party conventionally holds the Deputy Speaker’s post. Article 93 of the Constitution stipulates that the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker must be elected “as soon as may be” after the commencement of the House. However, the Constitution does not specify a time limit or process for conducting elections for the post of Speaker. The Speaker is elected by a simple majority vote and his or her term concludes with the dissolution of the House unless they resign or are removed from office earlier.

A Speaker can be removed through disqualification proceedings or a no-confidence motion in the House. However, as per Article 94 of the Constitution, such a resolution can only be moved after a 14-day notice. Following their removal, a Speaker is allowed to attend the proceedings but is not permitted to preside over them.

Will support government on Lok Sabha Speaker choice if they give deputy speaker post to Opposition, said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on June 25 after reports suggested that Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha, may be nominated again.

“Rajnath Singh yet to get back on Opposition demand for Dy speaker post,” Mr. Gandhi said.

The Opposition INDIA bloc is unlikely to contest the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post and the NDA nominee is likely to be elected unopposed, sources said on June 25 ahead of filing of nomination for the key post.

However, the Opposition has demanded that they be given the choice to pick the deputy speaker. - PTI

With the deadline for the nomination to the post of Lok Sabha Speaker approaching, senior Cabinet Minister Rajnath Singh has been reaching out to Opposition leaders on behalf of the government in a bid to build consensus for the post of Speaker and deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, sources have said.

If the Opposition INDIA bloc announces its candidate for the post, it will be the first time that elections will be held for the Speaker of the lower house. Since Independence, the Lok Sabha Speaker and deputy Speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the Opposition. - ANI

A total of 262 newly-elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took oath on Monday, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha. The remaining 281 new members will take their oaths on June 26.

Among the key leaders who will oath at the Parliament today include Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mahua Moitra, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi. - ANI

The BJP on June 25 launched a sharp attack on the Congress on the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah saying it is the biggest example of the Opposition party’s long history of killing democracy and harming it repeatedly.

BJP president J.P. Nadda said on ‘X’ that those who claim to be the guardians of Indian democracy today had spared no efforts to suppress the voices raised in the defence of constitutional values.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the Emergency, imposed by the then-prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 before she lifted it in 1977 and called for elections, is a black chapter in Indian democracy which cannot be forgotten. - PTI

1. Members who have not already taken the oath or made the affirmation, to do so, sign the Roll of Members and take their seats in the House.

President Droupadi Murmu on June 24 administered oath to BJP member B. Mahtab as ‘Speaker Pro-tem’ of the newly-constituted 18th Lok Sabha.

A seven-time MP, Mahtab, along with a panel of chairpersons is tasked with running the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 when winning candidates will take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha.

On June 26, he will preside over the House when a new Speaker will be elected. Mr. Mahtab along with the panel of chairpersons was appointed by the President on June 20.

The NDA leaders criticised the Opposition MPs for taking out “save Constitution” march to Lok Sabha on June 24, saying they should now consider how to take the country on the path of progress ending political matters as the elections are over.

“It was not right to do such politics, make such comments and create such an atmosphere on a day when everyone (newly elected MPs) would like to take oath in a good atmosphere,” TDP MP and Union minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu told PTI when asked to comment.

This came after the INDIA bloc MPs gathered in the Parliament complex and, in a show of strength, marched to Lok Sabha together on the first day of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha raising slogans to “save Constitution”.