Ruling party is breaking the convention of Lok Sabha: Congress MP K Suresh

Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term lawmaker fielded as the INDIA bloc’s candidate for the Speaker’s position against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Om Birla, accused the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of “breaking the convention” of giving the Deputy Speaker’s position to the Opposition. In an interview with Saubhadra Chatterji, the Mavelikkara MP added that the Opposition is “ready to withdraw” the nomination if the ruling coalition assures them of the Deputy Speaker post. Edited excerpts:

Why did you decide to contest?

The INDIA bloc parties have decided to contest because the ruling party is breaking the convention of the House. Historically, the Speaker has been from the ruling party, and the Deputy Speaker from the opposition. This tradition was followed during the Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh governments, and even during VP Singh’s time. We upheld it every time.

In 2014, when Modi came to power, our numbers were between 40-48, and they said we were not eligible for the posts of Leader of Opposition or Deputy Speaker, and we agreed. In 2019, our numbers were 52, but the requirement was 56. From 2014 to 2019, the Deputy Speaker post was given to AIADMK, an outside supporting party. This time, we are eligible.

When did the government tell you that the Opposition won’t get the Deputy Speaker’s post?

The House started on the 24th, but till 22nd or 23rd, they (the BJP) didn’t consult any of our leaders about our stance or whether we would support them. They didn’t offer the Deputy Speaker post despite our numbers. Last night (Monday), Rajnath Singh called our president Mallikarjun Kharge. Our senior leaders, KC Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, had already announced that the Deputy Speaker post is our legitimate right.

Rajnath Singh said he would discuss it with his ministers and get back to us by 10.00 am, but there was no response by 10 or 11. At 11.30am, Venugopal and TR Baalu went to Amit Shah’s office and reminded him. Shah told them, “Okay, support the Speaker and sign the nomination paper, and we’ll discuss the Deputy Speaker post after the election.”

When did you file your nomination?

At 11.44am, Venugopal called me to file my nomination. I rushed to the Lok Sabha to get signatures of the INDIA groups’ floor leaders. I filed my nomination at 11.50, ten minutes before the deadline for filing nomination.

There is no rule that says the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition.

It’s not mentioned in the Constitution but it’s a convention, an understanding that the House belongs to everyone. We demanded the post, and they could have offered it without our demand.

You have less than 24 hours to prepare for this election.

Winning and losing is secondary. The issue is that they are breaking conventions. They are insulting the opposition not only in the pro-tem Speaker selection but also in the Deputy Speaker selection. If they sincerely want to avoid the election for the highest position in the Lok Sabha, they have time until 11.00am tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss it. We are ready to withdraw, but they must honestly assure us of the Deputy Speaker post.