Senior BJP leader Santosh Gangwar has said that he can’t be appointed as the pro-tem Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha since he has joined the new Council of Ministers. According to Gangwar, a leader who takes oath as a minister can’t be made the pro-tem Speaker.
“I can’t be appointed as the pro-tem Speaker after taking oath as a minister. Someone else will get the chair of pro-tem Speaker,” he told Navbharat Times.
Earlier, there were reports that Gangwar may become the pro-tem Speaker in the 17 Lok Sabha. A pro-tem Speaker is appointed for the conduct of the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies when elected. The person is chosen with the agreement of the members of the House. Usually, the senior-most member is selected for the position.
A pro-tem Speaker is the one who administers the oath to all the newly elected MPs and enable the House to elect the new Speaker. The office of pro-tem Speaker is ceased immediately after the House elects a permanent Speaker.
The 17th Lok Sabha will hold its first sitting on June 6. On the first two days, newly elected MPs will be administered the oath by Gangwar. The election of a full-time Speaker is expected to take place on June 10.
Gangwar is the senior-most MP in the current Lok Sabha. He was elected for the eighth term from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. He defeated SP’s Bhagwat Saran Gangwar by a margin of 1.68 lakh votes. Barring 2009, Gangwar has won every election from Bareilly held since 1989. He served as MoS (Independent charge) in the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the previous government. Also, he was Minister of Textiles and MoS Finance.
