Congress Leader KC Venugopal Discusses Lok Sabha Speaker Election with Rajnath Singh

Congress leader KC Venugopal announced that the Opposition is ready to support the NDA candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker position if the Deputy Speaker post is given to them. The INDIA bloc has nominated Congress MP K Suresh for the Speaker election.

This decision came after Venugopal and DMK’s TR Baalu met with BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh. Venugopal stated, “We are ready to support the Speaker suggested by the government’s side, provided they also honor the opposition.”

Venugopal highlighted that when the UPA was in power, they gave the Deputy Speaker post to the NDA for 10 years, following the convention that the Deputy Speaker is from the Opposition.

After discussions with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajnath Singh did not respond until 11 am on Tuesday. Venugopal and TR Baalu were later called to Rajnath Singh’s office but were asked to sign support for the NDA candidate without a fair agreement.

Despite efforts by BJP’s top leadership to reach a consensus, the INDIA bloc decided to field K Suresh for the Speaker post. The BJP’s Kota MP Om Birla, who was the Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, also filed his nomination. The election will be held on June 26, with the NDA holding a majority of 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, while the opposition has 234 MPs.