NEW DELHI: With numbers not on its side, the Government is unlikely to go for election to the post of Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman in Parliament’s Monsoon Session beginning tomorrow and will push for a consensus candidate.
The post has been lying vacant since last month after the retirement of P J Kurien, who was elected to the upper house of Parliament on the Congress ticket from Kerala, and later became its deputy chairman in the UPA Government.
A top Government source said that parliamentary rules do not set any deadline for filling up the post and there were precedence in the past when it lay vacant for more than a session.
The BJP-led NDA does not enjoy a majority in the house and would need support of several regional parties to push for election of its candidate in case of a contest.
“Our efforts would be to build consensus for the Deputy Chairman of the upper house,” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel