BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab takes oath as pro tem speaker, 18th Lok Sabha convenes

Mahtab will hold the post till a full-time speaker is elected on June 26.

Jun 24, 2024 - 07:00

BJP’s Bhartruhari Mahtab takes oath as pro tem speaker, 18th Lok Sabha convenes

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Monday took oath as the pro tem speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. He will hold the post till a full-time speaker is elected on June 26.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath ahead of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha that convened on Monday and will end on July 3.

In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election, Mahtab won the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. He had represented the constituency six times earlier on a Biju Janata Dal ticket. The 66-year-old switched to the BJP on March 28.

Last week, the Congress had contended that Mahtab’s appointment was contrary to the convention that the MP who has served the most number of terms in the Lower House of Parliament should be named as the pro tem speaker.

“The senior-most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh [Congress] and Virendra Kumar [BJP], both of who are now serving their 8th term,” Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said. “The latter is now a Union minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem.”

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said that Mahtab’s appointment was “yet another attempt” by the BJP to destroy parliamentary norms.