New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has expressed disappointment over the Congress's decision to nominate K Suresh for the post of Lok Sabha speaker, sources said on Tuesday.
The election for the post of Lok Sabha speaker will be held tomorrow.
As per the sources, the TMC will clarify their stand on the nomination of K Suresh as the Speaker of Lok Sabha by 9 am tomorrow. Notably, the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc are set to lock horns over the post of Speaker in the Parliament on Wednesday.
The election for the post of Speaker has taken place at least twice in India's parliamentary history. The first instance was in 1952 when Congress' GV Malvankar contested against CPI's candidate Shankar Shantaram More. The second instance was in 1976 when Congress' BR Bhagat contested against Jagannathrao Joshi from Jan Sangh and was supported by Congress O.
Earlier today, the opposition INDIA bloc held a meeting of its floor leaders at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi to strategize on the election of the Speaker.
Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, president of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Hanuman Beniwal along with two TMC leaders -- Kalyan Banerjee and Derek O'Brien-- and other leaders of the INDIA bloc were present in the meeting.
Earlier today, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said that his party was not consulted on fielding Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress as the INDIA bloc's joint nominee for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker and termed it a "unilateral decision."
Speaking to ANI on K Suresh's candidature for Lok Sabha Speaker, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said, "We were not contacted about this, there was no discussion. Unfortunately, this is a unilateral decision."
Earlier in the day, the INDIA bloc's Kodikunnil Suresh, along with NDA candidate Om Birla, filed their nominations for the post of Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha on Tuesday, forcing the first election for the post.
INDIA bloc candidate K Suresh is currently the longest-serving Lok Sabha MP, as he has remained MP for 29 years.
Suresh was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, and thereafter, he won consecutively in the 1991, 1996, and 1999 general elections to the Lok Sabha from the Adoor constituency for four straight terms.
Suresh, who won his eighth Lok Sabha election from Mavelikkara (Kerala) in the 2024 general elections, has represented the seat four times in the past.
He is the working president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and was the chief whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the 17th Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, following the meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc, Rahul Gandhi has been named the LoP in the Lok Sabha. (ANI)
