AIADMK leader to be LS Dy Speaker

AIADMK leader to be LS Dy Speaker
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AIADMK leader to be LS Dy Speaker, AIADMK leader M Thambi Durai is all set to be elected unopposed as the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker on Wednesday.

AIADMK leader M Thambi Durai (file photo)New Delhi: AIADMK leader M Thambi Durai is all set to be elected unopposed as the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker on Wednesday. Thambi Durai filed his nomination papers for the post, as all the major parties, including the Congress, extended their support to his candidature.

AIADMK MPs, led by Durai, met Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu in his chamber on Tuesday. Naidu took the lead in appealing to the Congress and other Opposition parties to make the election of Durai unanimous. Durai was the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker from 1985 to 1989 and held various Ministerial posts in the Vajpayee Government.

In the first set of nomination papers, Home Minister Rajnath Singh proposed Thambi Durai and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seconded his candidature. From the Congress, Lok Sabha party floor leader M Mallikarjun Kharge proposed his name and Congress Chief Whip Jyotiraditya Scindia seconded it.

According to sources, the Modi Govt chose to nominate Durai, with an eye on isolating the Congress. There are three major Opposition blocks – Congress with 44, AIADMK with 37, TMC with 34 and BJD with 20. Now the second-biggest Opposition party on board, the Modi Govt has managed to drive a wedge and split the Opposition ranks.

The Modi Govt move also helps in garnering greater support for itself in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority, with 42 members in a 250-member House. The AIADMK has 11 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.

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