"Election taking place due to BJP's lust for power": Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Lok Sabha Speaker

New Delhi [India], June 26 : With just hours left before the poll to elect the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that the election is taking place due to the BJP's lust for power and its intention to bulldoze democracy.
Tiwari also asserted that they (opposition) will not let the BJP win just like that but will raise their voices for the democratic tradition.
"BJP is responsible for this. The elections are taking place due to its lust for power and its intentions to bulldoze democracy. Had the traditions and norms been followed, the Speaker post would have gone to the BJP unopposed and the Deputy Speaker post would have gone to the Congress and INDIA Alliance. But the BJP doesn't believe in democracy. It broke that tradition. so this will be our democratic protest. We will not let them win just like that, we will raise our voice for the democratic tradition," he said.
Earlier today, Congress MP K Suresh alleged that the government "compelled" the INDIA bloc to contest the election as their reply was not satisfactory over the issue.
"The government compelled the INDIA Alliance to contest the election. We don't want to contest the election against the Speaker, but when the government approached INDIA Alliance, especially the Congress party leadership, we asked about the Deputy Speaker post. At that time, we were not given any assurance. Yesterday, too, they didn't give any assurance by 11.30 am. They said, First, you support the Speaker election, and after that, we can discuss the Deputy Speaker. So, that reply was not satisfactory. So, our leaders decided to contest the Speaker election," said K. Suresh.
In Lok Sabha today, PM Modi will bring the motion that Om Birla, a member of the Lok Sabha, be chosen as the Speaker of the House. Rajnath Singh will second the motion.
Thereafter, Union Ministers like Lallan Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Amit Shah, Chirag Paswan, HD Kumaraswamy, and Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu will also move the motion to choose Birla as the Speaker.
As the opposition has also fielded K Suresh as its candidate against Birla, the election for the same will take place in the Lok Sabha when it resumes today.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadauria, and NCP (SCP) MP Supriya Sule will move the motion that K Suresh be chosen as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.
Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker were elected through consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
The NDA, which commands 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, holds a clear majority, while the opposition INDIA bloc comprises 234 MPs.