New Delhi: The Congress and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) have spoken in different voices on whether a division of votes was sought during the election of the Lok Sabha speaker on Wednesday (June 26).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Om Birla, the candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was elected as speaker for a second consecutive term after a voice vote.
The Lok Sabha saw an election for the post of the speaker for the first time in decades after Congress legislator K. Suresh filed his nomination as the INDIA bloc candidate a day ago after negotiations for the post of the deputy speaker between the government and the opposition fell through.
The motion to elect Birla was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and taken up for voting by pro tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab.
While the opposition had moved a motion to elect Suresh as speaker, it was not put to a vote.
While the Congress said that the opposition INDIA alliance had decided not to ask for a division of votes, the TMC alleged that several members of the opposition had asked for a division of votes.
“The rule says if any member of the House asks for division, the pro tem speaker in this case has to allow for a division,” said TMC general secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee to reporters outside parliament.
He added: “You can clearly see and hear from the footage of the Lok Sabha that several members of the opposition camp sought a division and asked for a division to put the motion to vote and the motion was adopted without putting the motion to vote.
#WATCH | TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says “The rule says if any member of the House asks for division, the Pro-tem Speaker in this case has to allow for a division. You can clearly see and hear from the footage of Lok Sabha that several members of the Opposition camp sought a… pic.twitter.com/x2GrHK3uKv
Advertisement— ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2024
“This is a clear testament to the fact that the ruling dispensation, the BJP, does not have the numbers. This government is running without the numbers. It’s illegal, immoral, unethical and unconstitutional, and people of the country have already shown them the door. It’s just a matter of time before they’re shown the door again.”
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) said that while the INDIA parties “could have asked” for a division of votes, they did not do so.
INDIA parties exercised their democratic right and moved motions in support of Kodikunnil Suresh as Lok Sabha Speaker.
Voice Vote was taken.
Thereafter, INDIA parties could have insisted on division.
AdvertisementThey did not do so. This is because they wanted to a spirit of consensus and…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 26, 2024
“INDIA parties exercised their democratic right and moved motions in support of Kodikunnil Suresh as Lok Sabha speaker. Voice vote was taken. Thereafter, INDIA parties could have insisted on division. They did not do so. This is because they wanted a spirit of consensus and cooperation to prevail, a spirit singularly lacking in the actions of the PM and the NDA,” he said.
Later, when Ramesh was asked about the TMC’s position, he reiterated to reporters outside parliament that a division was not sought.
“I am telling you formally, we didn’t ask for division of votes … We didn’t ask for it because we found it appropriate that there be a consensus on the first day, that there be an atmosphere of consensus on the first day. This was a constructive step from our end. We could have asked for division [of votes],” he said.
Speaking to The Wire, Ramesh reiterated that his earlier statement was the “official position of the INDIA parties”.
The difference in statements between the two parties comes a day after the TMC alleged it had not been consulted before Suresh’s nomination was filed for the post of speaker.
“We were not contacted about this, there was no discussion. Unfortunately, this is a unilateral decision,” Banerjee told reporters outside parliament on Tuesday.
The TMC did meet INDIA bloc leaders on Tuesday evening.
However, speaking to The Wire, TMC Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar downplayed any disagreement with the Congress and said there was no question of not seeing eye to eye with it, as there had been no discussion on the issue since Tuesday evening.
“There has been no discussion on this issue after the speaker’s election. How can we say that we don’t see eye to eye when there has been no discussion?”
Ghosh Dastidar maintained that some members had asked for a division of votes but Mahtab had avoided it.
“If you look at the proceedings of the House and replay the video which is available publicly, you will see that some members wanted a division of votes. We also respect the protocol and convention and it is the right of any member to ask for a division. But Mahtab ignored it. We don’t see why he avoided and ignored the demand. Maybe because the NDA was not sure of its numbers,” she said.
