LS Speaker election: Did Congress avoid seeking division of votes due to TMC reluctance? | India News

NEW DELHI: The Congress-led opposition did not press for division of votes during the Speaker’s election, a move that the party claimed was done in the interest of bipartisanship, but which left an impression that the change of tack was linked to Trinamool Congress‘s reluctance on the issue.
Major constituents of the INDIA bloc – SP, DMK, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP-SP – moved motions proposing K Suresh’s name for the top post, but TMC stayed away.When the motion proposed by the govt in favour of Om Birla was put to vote, the opposition benches allowed the election by a voice vote, foregoing voting.

The Mamata Banerjee-led outfit had complained it was not consulted over the election and Suresh’s name. When the opposition tried to persuade it, TMC said it will convey its decision on Wednesday morning, ahead of the Speaker’s election. The decision to allow a voice vote, sources said, suggested that TMC did not give a favourable response to vote division. However, there was much confusion over the issue later.

Congress came out clearly that it did not seek physical voting. AICC spokesman Jairam Ramesh said, “INDIA alliance exercised the democratic right to propose K Suresh for the post of Speaker and a voice vote was taken. After that, INDIA could have pressed for vote division, but did not, because INDIA wanted a consensus to strengthen the spirit of cooperation which is so lacking in the actions of PM and NDA.”

But TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee told reporters that several members had sought voting, but the pro-tem Speaker did not allow the division because the govt did not have the numbers to win the election. Abhishek called it “immoral”.
Meanwhile, Congress is seriously considering forcing a contest for the post of Deputy Speaker, peeved as it is with the govt’s attitude on the issue.
However, sources said the process for the post will take some time and a decision will be taken then.