New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said the Opposition has decided to boycott the election of the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman scheduled for April 17.

Taking to social media platform X, Ramesh outlined the reasons behind the decision.

“First, the Modi Govt has not appointed a Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha for 7 years. This has never happened before,” he said.

“Second, the Deputy Speaker’s counterpart in the Rajya Sabha is the Deputy Chairman. Shri Harivansh’s second term ended on April 9th. A day later he was nominated by the President of India as a member of the Rajya Sabha and he is now the NDA’s candidate for Deputy Chairman for a third term. Never before has a person nominated by the President to the Rajya Sabha been considered for the post of its Deputy Chairman,” he added.

Ramesh further alleged that the process lacked consultation.

“Third, all this is being done without any meaningful consultations with the Opposition. For these three reasons and as a mark of protest – but not with any disrespect to the very learned Shri Harivansh – the Opposition has regretfully decided to boycott the election of the Deputy Chairman scheduled for April 17,” he stated.

He also expressed hope for a more inclusive approach in the future.

“The Opposition hopes that Shri Harivansh 3.0 will be more accommodative of and receptive to the requests of the Opposition,” Ramesh added.

Meanwhile, the election for the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman is set to take place on April 17.

Harivansh (69), a resident of Ranchi in Jharkhand, has been a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Bihar since April 10, 2014, and was re-elected on April 10, 2020.

The journalist-turned-politician was first elected as Deputy Chairman on August 9, 2018, defeating Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad by 125 votes to 105. After completing his term in April 2020, he was re-elected on September 14, 2020, defeating RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha.

Harivansh succeeded Congress leader P.J. Kurien after his retirement in July 2018. He is among the few non-Congress leaders to have held the post, following B.D. Khobragade of the Republican Party of India (December 1969 to April 1972) and Godey Murahari of the Samyukta Socialist Party (April 1972 to March 1977, across two terms).

–IANS

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