Bhartruhari Mahtab, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Odisha, took oath as the Protem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha this morning. President Draupadi Murmu administered him the oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Let us tell you, Protem Speaker is a temporary post. The primary role of the Pro Tem Speaker is to administer the oath of office to new members.
What is Protem Speaker appointed?
The Speaker Pro Tem is appointed as the temporary Speaker of the Parliament. This appointment is made when the regular speaker has not been elected. The job of the Protem Speaker is to administer oath to the elected members. Apart from this, the process of electing a new speaker has to be conducted. The role of Pro Tem Speaker is temporary and this responsibility ends after the selection of the new Speaker.
Who is Bhartruhari Mahtab?
- Bhartruhari Mahtab was born on 8 September 1957 in Bhadrak, Agapada district of Odisha.
- He is the son of Dr. Harekrishna Mahtab, the first Chief Minister of Odisha.
- He is also a writer along with politics and also contributes to social work.
- He did post graduation from Ravenshoe College of Utkal University in 1978.
- He contested the Cuttack Lok Sabha elections for the first time in 1998 on BJD ticket and reached Parliament after winning. After this, he won from Cuttack seat consecutively in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. He reached Lok Sabha by getting elected as MP from BJD six times.
- On 28 March 2024, he resigned from BJD and joined BJP. However, it had no impact on Mahtab’s politics. This time he contested from Cuttack on BJP ticket and defeated BJD’s Santrup Mishra by 57077 votes. In this way he was elected MP for the seventh time.
Outstanding Parliamentarian Award 2017
Mahtab received the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in the year 2017. Along with this, he was also honored with Sansad Ratna Award for his excellent performance in ‘Debate’.
Government and opposition face to face
The opposition has strongly criticized the appointment of Mahtab as temporary speaker. It is alleged that the government has appointed Congress MP K. Suresh’s claim was ignored. At the same time, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Mahtab is a seven-time Lok Sabha member, making him suitable for this post. He said Suresh had lost the elections in 1998 and 2004, due to which his current term is his fourth consecutive term in the lower house. Earlier, he was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999.
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