The government has selected Bhartruhari Mahtab as the next Protem Speaker of the Lok Sabha. This has led to criticism from Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who says that the member of the Lok Sabha with the most number of terms is selected as Protem Speaker.

It is worth noting that the post of Protem Speaker is temporary and it is only held until the election of a new Speaker.

While the Congress leader has questioned the decision of the government, he has made it clear that the senior most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Virendra Kumar of BJP and Kodikunnil Suresh of Congress.

Virendra Kumar is currently a Union Minister and if he was not appointed Speaker Protem, then it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem. He said that instead of a seven-term MP, Bhartruhari Mahtab has been appointed as Speaker Protem.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister has criticized Congress for raising objections on selection of Protem Speaker

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticized Congress for raising objections on the selection of Protem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab. Briefing media in New Delhi. Mr. Rijiju said, Congress has created an issue about the pro-tem speaker.

He said, the post of protem speaker is temporary and the role is only limited till the election of the new speaker. Rijiju said, Bhartruhari Mahtab has been a member of the Lok Sabha for seven consecutive terms without a break and at this time he is the longest-serving member.

He said, Congress flagged the name of Suresh Kodaikanal but his total term is eight and break happened in year 1998 and 2004. He said, the government has followed the tradition in selection of Protem Speaker.