INDIA bloc strong, will oppose the wrong: KL Sharma on Lok Sabha Speaker's post

"They are not abiding by the Constitution. As the INDIA bloc is strong right now, we will oppose the wrong...," KL Sharma said while speaking to ANI on the fight between the opposition and the ruling party over the Lok Sabha Speaker post.

Congress MP KL Sharma who took oath as Member of Parliament from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after defeating Bharatiya Janata Party's Smriti Irani said that the Opposition INDIA bloc is strong at present and will oppose any wrongdoing by the ruling party. "They are not abiding by the Constitution. As the INDIA bloc is strong right now, we will oppose the wrong...," KL Sharma said while speaking to ANI regarding the Lok Sabha Speaker post.

Sharma pointed out that the post of Deputy Speaker has been conventionally given to an MP from the Opposition and hence the ruling party should abide by it. "It is the tradition of a healthy democracy to give the Deputy Speaker post to the Opposition. So, they should do it," he said.

Kishori Lal Sharma defeated BJP's strong candidate, Smriti Irani by a margin of 167196 votes. Irani defeated Rahul Gandhi from his family bastion by a margin of 55,120 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Efforts by the BJP's top leadership to reach a consensus on the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha came to nought when the INDIA bloc decided to nominate 8-time MP K Suresh for the post. His nomination followed the filing of nomination by BJP's Kota MP Om Birla for the same position. Birla previously served as the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha.

This will be the first time that elections are held for the Speaker of the lower house, as traditionally the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that they had informed Union Minister Rajnath Singh that the Opposition is prepared to support NDA's Speaker candidate, on the condition that the Deputy Speaker position is given to the opposition. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)