BHUBANESWAR: Governor Raghubar Das on Friday administered the oath to the seniormost MLA and former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain as the Pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly.
An eight-time BJD MLA from the Athagarh Assembly constituency, Swain was sworn in at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, chief secretary PK Jena and other senior officials. The seniormost MLA is appointed as the Pro-tem Speaker and will continue in office till a new Speaker is elected by the new MLAs of the Assembly.
The Pro-tem Speaker will conduct the election for the full time Speaker on June 20. Besides, Swain will administer oath to the newly-elected MLAs of the Assembly on June 18 and 19. Swain said he will discharge his duties and responsibilities till then.
The BJP is believed to have decided on making Ranpur MLA and former minister Surama Padhy as the party’s candidate for the post of Speaker. However, Opposition BJD and Congress are yet to announce whether they will field any candidate for the post or allow the Speaker to be elected unanimously. Sources in the BJD said the decision will be announced after the swearing-in of the new MLAs.
All the three Speakers of the 16th legislative Assembly, Surjya Narayan Patro, Bikram Keshari Arukha and Pramila Mallik were elected unopposed.