Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday urged the BJP to entrust the LS Speaker’s post to its ally, provided the BJP-led NDA government has no intention of engaging in any undemocratic action in the future.
“Not just the TDP and the JD(U), even the people of the country are eagerly watching the election for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker. If the BJP has no intention of engaging in any undemocratic act in the future, they should give the post of the Speaker to an ally,” Gehlot opined in his WhatsApp media group here.
“Following coalition principles, from 1998 to 2004 in Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, the TDP and the Shiv Sena held the Speaker’s post. Similarly, in the UPA government from 2004 to 2009, the CPI(M) held the Speaker’s position, and the Lok Sabha was managed well,” he reminded.
Apprehending a potential manoeuvre in the nomination of the Speaker, Gehlot warned, “The TDP and the JD(U) should not forget the conspiracies hatched by the BJP to topple governments in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan”.
In many of these states, the government fell and the parties broke up due to the role of the Speaker, he underlined.
“In 2019, four out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from the TDP joined the BJP, and the TDP could do nothing. Now, if the BJP retains the post of the Lok Sabha speaker, the TDP and the JD(U) should be prepared to see horse-trading of their MPs,” warned Gehlot, who is convalescing after a slipped disc at his Civil Lines government bungalow.