There is still suspense over the offer reportedly given by PM Narendra Modi to YSRC party for a berth or two in the Union cabinet and the response given by YSRC president and CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to the offer.
The talk in the political circles is that Modi had invited the YSRC to join the National Democratic Alliance, but Jagan told him that he would accept the offer if the Centre granted special category status to Andhra Pradesh in some form or the other.
Now, there is yet another talk that surfaced in a section of media.
Modi told Jagan that if the YSRC is not keen on joining the NDA government at this stage, it could at least accept the post of deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, which has been lying vacant since the NDA came to power for the second term in 2019.
Modi even suggested that the deputy speaker post could be given to Jagan’s favourite Lok Sabha member P Mithun Reddy. Apparently, Jagan did not give him any immediate response but told the PM that he would take a call after discussing the issue in the party.
In 1999, too, the Telugu Desam Party president and then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu faced a similar situation. He refused to join the NDA government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee and extended support from outside.
As a result, Vajpayee offered Lok Sabha speaker post to the TDP and Naidu, after discussing in the party, accepted the same. Thus, G M C Balayogi was made the Lok Sabha speaker then.
It remains to be seen whether Jagan will follow the Naidu model and accept the Dy Speaker post officer or stay away from such posts.
This is for the first time that the post of deputy speaker of Lok Sabha has been lying vacant for more than 470 days.
Prior to the present instance, the longest that it had taken for the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha to be elected was in 1998, when it remained vacant for over 260 days.
According to Article 93 of the Constitution, the Lok Sabha will choose two members of the House to be the speaker and the deputy speaker at the earliest possible.
In the previous Lok Sabha, AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai was elected unopposed to the post of deputy speaker.
