Don't want to decide on Leader of Opposition in hurry: Lok Sabha Speaker

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said she is not in favour of taking any decision in haste on the issue of nominating Leader of Opposition but has to take a call before the coming budget session. "I don't want to taken any decision in haste on the issue of nominating Leader of Opposition. Before arriving at any decision on the issue, I will have to study in detail the related rules and traditions and also consult the subject experts," Mahajan told reporters at the Indore Press Club.

However, when asked about the time limit on the issue of deciding the Leader of Opposition, the 71-year-old leader said, "I will have to take a decision on the issue before the Lok Sabha's budget session." "In such issues, the Lok Sabha Speaker is not supposed to go by his/her own inner voice. Therefore, I will see relevant parliamentary directives and precedents. After that only I will take a decision on the issue," she said. The Speaker clarified that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not written any letter to her on the issue, but she has received a letter from Congress General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi informing that former Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge has been elected the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

Sumitra said that she will strive hard to ensure that positive and quality debates takes place in the House instead of unnecessary arguments. She said she will ensure maximum coordination between ruling and Opposition parties, and added that normally it is believed that the onus of running the House smoothly lies with the party in power. She also said that her focus will be on providing training to the new MPs and she would also try to ensure that maximum questions raised by members are taken up during the Question Hour in the House. 

The Speaker also urged the media not to give undue importance to those who create ruckus in the House to remain in the limelight. The eight-time MP from Indore also said that she will try hard to give impetus to the developmental projects associated with her constituency and the state. Replying to a question on the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, the senior BJP leader said the officers probing the case should investigate it carefully and not harass any innocent person.

Meanwhile, a public function was held last night in the city to honour Sumitra, popularly known as 'Tai' on her unanimous election as the Lok Sabha Speaker. Nearly 470 people belonging to different walks of life felicitated her on the occasion. The Speaker thanked people for electing her not just once, twice or thrice, but for the eighth time from the same constituency. 

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