National   

Akali leader Atwal set to become Deputy Speaker

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 8. The Shiromani Akali Dal member of Parliament from Phillaur in Punjab, Charanjit Singh Atwal, is all set to be unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha here tomorrow.

Today at noon, the deadline for filing of nomination papers, he was the only candidate for the position, supported by both the Opposition as well as the ruling benches. There were several sets of nomination papers in his favour signed, among others, by the Leader of the House, Pranab Mukherjee, Chairman of the National Democratic Alliance, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of the Opposition, L.K. Advani, and leaders of several other parties — Sharad Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party), Laloo Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Ramgopal Verma (Samajwadi Party), Chandrakant Khaire (Shiv Sena) and George Fernandes (Janata Dal-United).

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, while offering the post of Speaker to Somnath Chatterjee had sought the support of Opposition parties for his candidature even as he offered the post of Deputy Speaker to the Opposition, as is the convention. The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership had accepted that offer but it was able to finalise its candidate only late last night at a meeting at the residence of Mr. Vajpayee.

Initially there was near unanimity in the BJP favouring its own party candidate for the post and former Cabinet Minister, Satya Narayan Jatiya, had emerged as the favourite. However, there was considerable pressure on the party leadership from its Akali Dal alliance partner to concede the post to Mr. Atwal, a former Speaker of the Punjab Assembly from 1997 to 2002.

Finally, the BJP gave in considering that the Akali Dal had stood by the party all through the last six years.

Mr. Atwal has been twice elected to the Lok Sabha, the first time from Ropar as member of the Eighth Lok Sabha. He has also held a number of other positions in the past, including that of vice-chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Akali leader Atwal set to become Deputy Speaker
• 'Civil aviation policy will be consumer-oriented'
• Independent probe into Kargil war sought
• Aliabad Serai — a symbol of destruction
• Kalam's address left out some issues: CPI(M)
• Godhra carnage: Laloo to bring out `factual position'
• BJP confident of retaining strength in Upper House
• NALCO case: Court directs appointment of new panel
• Where weather played spoilsport
• NGOs protest Teesta low dam project
• Bastar tribals watch celestial spectacle
• Court raps Punjab for failure to execute Canal project
• Mirwaiz's uncle buried in ancestral graveyard
• Repeal of POTA has legal implications
• Now, dog squads to counter militancy
• The fish medicine has its following
• The classical status of Tamil
• Janata Party plans agitation
• Process begins for setting up housing, business advisory panels
• Sachin's appeal rejected
• No violation of law: M.J. Akbar
• Manmohan signs condolence book at U.S. Embassy
• President of National Board of Examinations

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu