I.N.D.I.A. to field SP’s Faizabad MP for Dy Speaker

It is learnt that Mr Prasad’s name was suggested by Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who felt that Mr Prasad’s nomination carries “strong symbolism”. Her suggestion was conveyed to other INDIA bloc leaders by TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is the CM’s nephew.

Mr Prasad defeated BJP’s sitting MP Lallu Singh by 54,567 votes in the midst of the Ram Temple campaign. Ayodhya is a part of Faizabad. Mr Prasad is Pasi Dalit who won on a general seat.

The TMC had informed the INDIA bloc leaders that it was not keen on the deputy speaker’s post. While conveying his party’s view to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mr Banerjee is reported to have said that projecting a joint candidate for the deputy speaker’s post will send out a strong message.

The deputy speaker may be appointed after a gap of five years as in the last term the Opposition did not have enough numbers to stake claim, and the government did not appoint anyone. The deputy speaker’s post is traditionally offered to the Opposition, though there are no rules which make that mandatory.

Meanwhile, Parliament is set to witness heated debates on a range of issues like the Neet paper leak row, the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, unemployment and inflation when both Houses reconvene on Monday. In the Lok Sabha, BJP member and former Union minister Anurag Thakur is set to initiate the debate on the motion of thanks on the President’s address. The Lok Sabha has allocated 16 hours for the debate on the motion of thanks, which will conclude with the reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. In the Rajya Sabha, 21 hours have been set aside for the debate and the Prime Minister is likely to reply on Wednesday.