A rare contest for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post is on after the government and a miffed INDIA bloc failed to reach a consensus.
On Wednesday 11 am, we will have Om Birla of the BJP taking on Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress. This after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) decided to cold shoulder the opposition's demand for the Deputy Speaker's post.
The INDIA bloc insisted they deserved the assurance after their strong showing in the elections and hoped the NDA will grant them their wish to ensure the 18th Lok Sabha went ahead in a spirit of non-partisanship co-operation.
The BJP's view, as articulated by Piyush Goyal, was that a non-partisan post should not be allowed to become a quid pro quo deal. Interestingly, the BJP's PR team quickly shared data on opposition states where both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker hailed from the same party to buttress their argument. Had they already prepared for the eventuality?
Many were left wondering why Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had been entrusted with the mission to reach out to the opposition if the plan was to deliver a take-it-or-lump-it message in the end.
Delhi circles are buzzing with multiple theories.
Some have put it down to the BJP's keenness to be not seen as yielding lest this be mistaken for weakness stemming from the lack of a simple majority on their own.
Others have speculated that the need to placate an ally possibly denied the Speaker's post -- the TDP, to wit -- with the consolation prize of the Deputy Speaker's post might have been the driving force.
Whatever be the reason we now have a rare contest on our hands.
This comes a day after the House saw opposition leaders accusing Narendra Modi of attacking the Constitution -- copies of which they brandished -- by appointing Bhartruhari Mahtab as pro-tem Speaker.
The opposition stressed that by doing this and superseding the legitimate claims of Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-time MP, the government had proved that they hadn't changed their spots.
Former general secretary of the Lok Sabha PDT Achary explained that the reach-out the NDA attempted through Rajnath was a conventional step.
"The aim is to arrive at a consensus to elect a Speaker. When that doesn't work, the Opposition puts up a candidate. Both the parties involved puts forward two motions and the House decides. Whoever has the majority becomes the next Speaker," he said, a process that indicates Om Birla should return as the next speaker thanks to the NDA having the numerical superiority.
But Achary went on to add that the NDA wanting to have both the speaker and deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha from their ranks is unusual.
He said that as the Opposition had emphasised the Deputy Speaker's post was usually given to them.
From what Achary said a possible reason behind the the Prime Minister and his men's decision to drop the conversational ball once the Opposition stood firm in its demands could have been the power the position commands.
The Deputy Speaker when he steps into the Chair has all the powers of the Speaker. He can even give rulings against the government. So, the ruling party may not be comfortable with the idea of a member of the opposition being in such a huge position.
And what if -- and it is a highly, highly unlikely if -- Suresh goes on to win the contest.
Quite simply, it would mean that the Opposition has won the support of a majority of the MPs in the Parliament in the vote for the vital post. With the ruling alliance being reduced to a minority in the contest, it should resign.
Achary, though, doesn't think that the Opposition has entered the fight with the belief that they can win it. Instead they are hoping to send out a strong message that they are not to borrow Margaret Thatcher's famous words "for the turning" and will fight the government every step of the way.
Interesting days lie ahead.
