By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is considering either a Muslim or a tribal MP for the Lok Sabha deputy speaker’s post, which by tradition is offered to the opposition.
Reliable party sources disclosed to IANS that the name of former minister and the BJP’s minority cell chief Shahnawaz Hussain and of Karia Munda, tribal MP from Jharkhand, were being discussed for the post.
Shahnawaz Hussain was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Going by convention, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had last week called up Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and offered the post. In the previous Lok Sabha, the BJP had allotted the post to its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Shiromani Akali Dal.
A senior BJP leader told IANS that “we are waiting for the official communication of the offer (of deputy speaker)” though the informal word had come.
The Congress has picked Meira Kumar, a Dalit and five-time MP, to be the Lok Sabha speaker. She will become the first woman to adorn the coveted post. The speaker’s election is slated for Wednesday and Meira Kumar is likely to be the unanimous choice.
The BJP leader said that several NDA leaders from Meira Kumar’s home state of Bihar had congratulated her saying it was “an honour to Bihar”.