“Opposition wanted to dictate terms,” says Piyush Goyal as consensus evades government on Speaker post

New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): After failing to build a consensus for the Lok Sabha Speaker post, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that when Rajnath Singh tried, the Congress put the condition of deciding the Deputy Speaker post first.

Piyush Goyal said that his party condemned this type of politics.

“After discussions with all the parties of the NDA, it was decided that Om Birla should be chosen as the speaker of the Lok Sabha. In the morning, Rajnath Singh ji wanted to discuss with Mallikarjun Kharge ji, but he was busy, so he said that Venugopal ji would talk to you. But after speaking with TR Baalu and KC Venugopal ji, the old mentality that we will dictate the terms was shown again that the condition is that first decide who will be the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha and then support will be given for the Speaker, we condemn this type of politics,” Goyal said.

He further said that it is a good tradition that if the Lok Sabha had elected a Speaker unanimously and unopposed, then the dignity of the House would have been maintained and all the parties would have contributed as well.

“Just like the Speaker belongs to the entire House and not to the ruling or opposition party, the Deputy Speaker also belongs to the entire House. It is not in keeping with the tradition of the Lok Sabha that the deputy speaker should be from a particular party,” Piyush Goyal added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Mallikarjun Kharge is a senior leader, and I respect him. I have had a conversation with him three times since yesterday.”

Senior JDU leader and minister Lalan Singh said democracy does not work on conditions.

“KC Venugopal and TR Balu had come. They spoke to the Defence Minister. The Defence Minister informed about the Lok Sabha Speaker candidate from the NDA side, and he asked for support. Venugopal said that the name of the deputy speaker should be accepted… The defence minister said that when that election comes, we will sit together and discuss… They were adamant on their condition. ‘Sharton ke aadhar par wo loktantra chalana chahte hain, dabaav ki rajneeti karna chate hain… This does not work in a democracy,” Lalan Singh said.

Meanwhile, efforts by the BJP’s top leadership to broker a consensus on the position of the speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha came to naught when the INDIA bloc decided to field 8-time MP K Suresh for the post. His nomination followed the filing of a nomination by the BJP’s Kota MP Om Birla for the post.

Birla was the speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha as well.

This will be the first time that elections will be held for the Speaker of the lower house. Since independence, the Lok Sabha Speaker and deputy Speaker have been elected by consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. The elections for the post will be held on June 26.

The NDA, which has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, enjoys a clear majority, with the opposition INDIA bloc having 234 MPs.