The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on June 24 and will continue till July 3, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Wednesday. He also appealed to all political parties for a constructive debate in the upcoming session. The Rajya Sabha session will commence on June 27.
The first three days of the Lok Sabha session will see the newly-elected members taking oath or making affirmation of their membership of the Lok Sabha and electing the Speaker of the House.
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President’s address
President Droupadi Murmu will address a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on June 27 and is likely to outline the new government’s roadmap for the next five years.
The BJP, which is likely to keep the post of the Speaker with itself, has not yet revealed the name of the probable candidates. Even as several remarks from Opposition leaders imploring the two key NDA allies to keep the Speaker’s position for themselves, the TDP has publicly clarified that it has not sought the position.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray exhorted both TDP and JD(U) to ensure that either of the parties get the post. He warned them that if a BJP leader occupies the Speaker’s position, there is a real danger of a vertical split in their parties.
Over half are newcomers
As per a statistical analysis by PRS Legislative Research, 280 MPs are first-timers while 216 sitting MPs were re-elected of which only eight changed their constituency. In 2019, 43% of the sitting MPs had returned to Lok Sabha but this time the number has fallen down by 3%.
The strength of women members has marginally decreased. In the 17th Lok Sabha, there were 78 women MPs while this time there are only 74. Nine re-elected MPs represented a different party in the 17th Lok Sabha and eight others represented a party that split from their earlier political outfit.
“The mandate of the people has to be respected. Those who have been directed by the voters to run the government, should run it well and those who have got the direction to sit in the Opposition should play a constructive role. Both treasury and Opposition benches have to contribute to run the Parliament well,” Mr. Rijiju said, speaking to reporters while making the announcement. He appealed for a constructive debate and discussion.
