NEW DELHI: Mr Shivraj V.Patil of the Congress (I) was elected unopposed as Speaker of the tenth Lok Sabha on Wednesday following the withdrawal of the National Front-Left Front candidate, Mr Rabi Ray, from the contest.
The NF-LF members did not move their motion proposing Mr Rabi Ray’s name, thus ending continuing speculation that the choice of the Speaker would lead to the newly constituted Lok Sabha’s first bitter contest.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also did not move its nomination of Mr Jaswant Singh in keeping with its earlier announcement of supporting the Congress (I) candidate.
Despite the unanimity on Mr Patil’s election, some of the acrimony of the long drawn negotiations on the Speaker issue found its way into the House as NF-LF members heckled their Congress (I) and BJP counterparts, claiming that they had exposed an “unholy and unethical alliance”.
“Do alag-alag dilon ka milan ho gaya hai (disparate hearts have met)” mocked the Jharkand Mukti Morcha member, Mr Suraj Mandal, by way of of the explanation for not moving his motion proposing Mr Rabi Ray’s name.
And as BJP members chanted “Jai Shri Ram” while the leader of the House, Mr Arjun Singh, and the leader of the Opposition, MrL.K.Advani, escorted Mr Patil to the Speaker’s chair after his election the Janata Dal benches crowed, “ab dono mil ke mandir banaiye (now build the temple together)”.
Later, however, while felicitating Mr Patil on his election as Speaker, NF-LF leaders made it clear that whatever difference there may have been between the various parties on the choice of the new Speaker, they were merely political and had nothing to do with individuals and personalities. Expressing their confidence in Mr Patil’s impartiality and sense of justice, they offered him their full cooperation.
Mr Patil’s name was proposed by Mr Arjun Singhand seconded by the AIADMK member, Mr P J Narayan. The first to congratulate him was the Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, who recalled Mr Patil’s stint as Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly saying that he had shouldered that responsibility with “great distinction”. He urged all the members to work “with urgency and collectively” to face the challenges before the country.
Taking off from Mr Suraj Mandal’s comments on “dilon ka milan” Mr Advani observed that he would have been happier if all hearts and parties had united.
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government placed under suspension four police officials for their controversial role in the Bhiwani and Meham happenings during Chautala rule. The four officers are Mr S.A.Khan, and Mr Shamsher Singh, both DIGs, Mr Tara Chand and Mr Sukhraj Singh Rana, both DSPs.
The action follows the Haryana Govt’s desire for an objective investigation into certain cases registered in Bhiwani and §.A.Khan, and Mr Shamsher Singh, both DIGs, Mr Tara Chand and MrSukhraj Singh Rana, both DSPs.
The action follows the Haryana Govt’s desire for an objective investigation into certain cases registered in Bhiwani and Rohtak districtsIt is learnt that Mr. Khan’s suspension had been ordered to probe FIR No,147/89 registered under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Fir No 492 registered under the Section 302 of the IPC at Bhiwani police station in 1989.
The suspension of Mr Shamsher Singh and Mr Rana had been made to investigate FIR No 76/90.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 19, 1991
