A key meeting of the Group of Ministers was held at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh here on Tuesday evening to discuss candidates for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha and also strategy for the upcoming Parliament Session, scheduled to commence on June 24, the sources said.
The sources further said the meeting, which was also attended by Union Ministers Dr S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kiren Rijiju, and Chirag Paswan, discussed ways to ensure better floor coordination among the NDA partners during the session.
Rajnath Singh has been given the responsibility to build a consensus for the election of the Speaker among NDA allies and opposition parties as well.
The election to the post of Speaker is scheduled to be held on June 26 during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. The session will conclude on July 3.
During the session of Parliament, newly elected MPs will be sworn in. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha will be elected. President Droupadi Murmu will address the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament on June 27.
Recently, Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi made it clear that his party along with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would back the candidate nominated by the BJP for the key post in the Lower House of Parliament.
The JD-U leader’s comments are an indication that the saffron party is likely to put up its nominee for the Speaker’s post and that the candidate may not be from its allies.
The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha (Budget Session) was held between January 31 and February 10.