BJP lawmaker Virendra Kumar appointed Protem Speaker

"......in exercise of the powers conferred upon me by clause (1) of Article 95 of the Constitution of India, I hereby appoint Dr Virendra Kumar, a Member of the House of the People, to perform the duties of the office of the Speaker from the commencement of the sitting of the House of People on June 17, 2019 till election of the Speaker by the said House," an order from President Ram Nath Kovind said here.

A seven-time MP, Virendra Kumar was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996.

In the last Lok Sabha, he was Union minister of state for ministry of women and child development; and ministry of minority affairs from September 3, 2017 to May 25, 2019.

In the capacity of protem Speaker, Mr Kumar will administer the oath to the newly-elected members of the 17th Lok Sabha on June 17 and 18.

The new Speaker will be elected on June 19.

Earlier, there was speculation about the possibility of senior lawmakers Maneka Gandhi and Radha Mohan Singh also being considered for the post.

President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on June 20.

While the Parliament session will continue till July 26, the new government will present its first Budget on July 5.

Now, focus will shift on who will BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular likely to field as the ruling combine's nominee for the coveted office of the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Having won 303 seats on its own, the ruling dispensation is more than comfortable about the numbers to ensure election of its nominee as the presiding officer of the Lower House.

Image credit: UNI