New Delhi:
With just 48 hours to go before
Arvind Kejriwal has to prove his majority in the Delhi legislature, his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has to pick a temporary or pro-term Speaker because the BJP has turned down the post.
The pro-term Speaker is needed to swear-in the elected members of the new legislature and conduct proceedings till the speaker and deputy speaker are elected.
"Why can't the BJP and Congress even take up a small responsibility like appointing a pro-tem Speaker?" asked the AAP's Sanjay Singh. "Now the Speaker will be from AAP, we will announce the name by this evening," he said.
Because the BJP is the largest party in the new assembly, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, had appointed its senior leader Jagdish Mukhi as the pro-tem Speaker but the party has said it will not accept the nomination.
Mr Kejriwal and the AAP have 28 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly. They are being loaned external support by the Congress, which has eight legislators. The BJP has 31 legislators in the new House.