Gavit appointed protem speaker

Senior most Lok Sabha member Manikrao Gavit of Congress has been appointed as protem speaker by president Pratibha Patil on Monday.

A nine-term Member of Parliament, 75-year-old Gavit will perform the duties of the speaker till the election of a new speaker on June 3.

Gavit was administered oath by the president at a brief function at Rashtrapati Bhavan which was attended among others by vice president Hamid Ansari, prime minister Manmohan Singh and Parliamentary Affairs minister PK Bansal.