The statement comes amid speculation that the post could go to an ally, just like AIADMK had it in Modi’s first term.
While it is still not clear if the 18th Lok
Sabha will have a Deputy Speaker, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has said it is
not interested in the post. With 16 seats in the Lok Sabha, the TDP is the
BJP’s biggest ally and is key to the stability of the Narendra Modi government.
“We are not aspiring for the post.
We have made it very clear,” the TDP’s national spokesperson Pattabi Ram
Kommareddy told The Indian Express on Wednesday. The BJP too has not approached the TDP to
fill the post, he said. “No meeting to this effect, that suggests the TDP
should take up the deputy Speaker’s role, has happened so far,” Kommareddy
said.
The
statement comes amid speculation that the post could go to an ally, just like
AIADMK had it in Modi’s first term.
Another top TDP leader said: “From the
beginning, the TDP has not expressed its interest in either the Speaker or the
Deputy Speaker post. We have left it open to the other (National Democratic
Alliance) allies, that is if they are interested.” Hinting that the Janata Dal (United) could be interested
in the role, the TDP leader said: “If an ally is to be chosen for the role, why
not the JD(U)?”
A senior JD(U) leader said the
party had not heard anything on this from the BJP. “The BJP has not yet
indicated to us if there will be a Deputy Speaker post and if yes whether they
are interested in giving it to us,” the leader said. Another party leader said
it would appear odd as the Rajya Sabha already has a JD(U) nominee
in Deputy Chairman of the House Harivansh.
Some BJP leaders also suggested that if no
ally is interested in the post, then Opposition could be thought about.
The TDP, however, is not
comfortable with the idea. Asked if the Opposition, going by convention, should
get the post: Kommareddy said: “The Opposition should first graciously accept
the people’s mandate. Their attitude has been to create ruckus in the House and
disrupt the government’s functioning. When they are not following convention,
why should we (NDA) offer the role to them?”
It was due to a lack of commitment from the
government over the Deputy Speaker’s post to the Opposition that the INDIA bloc
chose to put up a candidate against Om Birla, the BJP nominee for the Speaker’s
post. It lost in a voice vote.
A TDP source, meanwhile, said that
had the Opposition supported Speaker Om Birla’s candidature right at the
beginning, the NDA government could have considered their demand for Deputy
Speaker. “Instead, the Opposition fielded their own candidate. This was nothing
but confrontation. Why should the ruling alliance favour them?” the TDP source
asked.
A senior Congress leader said that
the party was waiting for a commitment from the NDA on Deputy Speaker’s post
even on Wednesday morning. “If they had indicated they would give the post to
the Opposition, we would have taken our motion back,” the leader said.
The TDP’s stand on the Deputy
Speaker post is in line with what most of their MPs have been echoing — that
they need more funds for the state and not key positions in the Centre. The
party has one Cabinet minister and one Minister of State. “We are part of the
government only to get special financial packages for the state, which we have
sought in the pre-budget consultation meeting,” a TDP leader said.
The TDP has so far asked for
central assistance in developing Andhra Pradesh capital
and Polavaram project.
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