After Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said on Wednesday that several opposition members sought a division vote, but the Pro-Tem Speaker did not allow it, which shows that the ruling dispensation does not have the numbers.
Banerjee said, "The rule says if any member of the House asks for division, the pro-tem speaker in this case has to allow for a division. You can see and hear from the footage of Lok Sabha that several members of the opposition camp sought a division and asked for a division to put the motion to vote and the motion was adopted without putting the motion to vote."
"This is a clear testament to the fact that the ruling dispensation, the BJP, does not have the numbers. This government is running without the numbers. It's illegal, immoral, unethical and unconstitutional, and the people of the country have already shown them the door. It's just a matter of time before they're shown the door again," the TMC leader added.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and MP from Kota, Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha after the motion for the same was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The motion was adopted by the house through a voice vote.
The house echoed with 'Ayes' and 'Noes' and the pro-tem speaker, Bhartruhari Mahtab, declared Om Birla as the Speaker of the lower house.
The opposition, which had filed K Suresh as the speaker candidate of the INDIA bloc, did not press for a division vote.
JMM MP Mahua Maji told ANI that the opposition didn't have the numbers and that's why they didn't ask for a division vote.
"I congratulate him on behalf of my party. We (Opposition) didn't have the numbers, so this (division of votes) wasn't sought. The Parliamentary tradition has been that the Deputy Speaker should be from Opposition. This is a different time; the Opposition has strength. Opposition wanted to give a message so that this doesn't happen in future and Opposition is heard," she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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