The government has fielded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to build consensus on the choices for the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker post, sources have said.

The senior BJP leaders, it is learnt, have spoken to top Opposition leaders — Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, DMK leader MK Stalin and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee — on this subject. Talks are also being held with key NDA allies Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal United, sources have said.

The deadline to file nomination for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is 12 pm today and an election, if any, will be held tomorrow. All Speakers so far have been elected unanimously and an election, if it happens, will be a first.

The BJP is tight-lipped about its choice for the key post, but there is a buzz that Om Birla, who served as Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, may be repeated. Mr Birla also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning. In fact, Bhartruhari Mahtab, the pro-term speaker, is also being seen as a frontrunner.

Another post under the spotlight is that of the Deputy Speaker. This position is traditionally given to the Opposition. However, the BJP had appointed its ally AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai as Deputy Speaker in 2014. Since 2019, the post is vacant.

In both the 16th and the 17th Lok Sabha, there was no Leader of the Opposition, as the Congress did not have enough numbers. But this time, the Opposition has posted a good show in the general election, with the Congress winning 99 seats. So the party, backed by its allies in the INDIA Opposition bloc, will be pushing for the Deputy Speaker’s post.

In fact, according to Congress sources, Mr Kharge has already made it clear to Mr Singh that the Deputy Speaker should be from the Opposition benches. The Congress chief has said that while the Oppositions wants consensus too, healthy traditions must be followed, the sources added.

A total of 262 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took oath on Monday, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha. The remaining 281 new members will take their oaths today.

The swearing-in ceremony marked the commencement of the 18th Lok Sabha’s first session, which began with the oath-taking of the new MPs.

The Lok Sabha Speaker will be elected on June 26. On June 27, President Murmu is scheduled to address a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament.

The NDA, which has 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, enjoys a clear majority, with the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc having 234 MPs.

Here are the LIVE Updates on Parliament:

To counter the Opposition’s Constitution narrative during the first Parliament session after the Lok Sabha elections began, BJP leaders led By Prime Minister Narendra Modi put out social media posts to mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government on June 25, 1975.

“Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the Emergency. The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India which every Indian respects greatly,” the Prime Minister tweeted this morning.

Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the Emergency.

The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India which every Indian respects greatly.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 25, 2024

“Just to cling on to power, the then Congress Government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail. Any person who disagreed with the Congress was tortured and harassed. Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections.

“Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution,” he said.

The mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it. They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 25, 2024

In a scathing attack on the Congress, the Prime Minister said that the “mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it”. “They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism, but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again,” he said.

The tone for the united offensive was set by the Prime Minister yesterday. In an address to media at the beginning of the new session, he said June 25 marks 50 years of a black spot on Indian democracy. “The new generation will not forget how the Indian Constitution was scrapped, the country turned into a jail and democracy captured. In this 50th anniversary, the country will take a pledge that never again will it happen,” he said yesterday.

The Prime Minister’s remarks drew a sharp response from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Mr Kharge said the Prime Minister is talking about the 50-year-old Emergency, but has forgotten the “undeclared Emergency in the last 10 years”.

The Opposition, which made ‘protecting the Constitution’ a key plank in this general election, put up a show of strength at the Parliament yesterday during MPs of the INDIA bloc held up copies of the Constitution.

Speaking to the media, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “We will not allow the attack on the Constitution that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are doing. This attack is not acceptable to us.”

देश में लोकतंत्र की हत्या और उस पर बार-बार आघात करने का कांग्रेस का लंबा इतिहास रहा है। साल 1975 में आज के ही दिन कांग्रेस के द्वारा लगाया गया आपातकाल इसका सबसे बड़ा उदाहरण है।

अहंकार में डूबी, निरंकुश कांग्रेस सरकार ने एक परिवार के सत्ता सुख के लिए 21 महीनों तक देश में सभी… pic.twitter.com/puZbzdGdzp

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 25, 2024

Hitting out at the Congress today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted that it has a history of “murdering democracy”. “The Emergency imposed in 1975 is its biggest example.” The Congress, he said, suspended citizens’ all rights for 21 months to stay in power. “They imposed censorship on the media, changed the Constitution and tied the hands of the court,” he said, lauding the struggle of people from all walks of life who protested against the Emergency.

आज के ठीक 49 साल पहले भारत में तत्कालीन कांग्रेस सरकार द्वारा आपातकाल लगाया गया था। आपातकाल हमारे देश के लोकतंत्र के इतिहास का वह काला अध्याय है जिसे चाह कर भी भुलाया नहीं जा सकता। सत्ता के दुरुपयोग, और तानाशाही का जिस तरह खुला खेल उस दौरान खेला गया, वह कई राजनीतिक दलों की…

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 25, 2024

The Emergency is an unforgettable dark chapter of our democracy, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. “If democracy has survived in this country, the credit goes to those who fought for it, went to jail and suffered physical and mental agony,” he said.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari paid his respects to those “who opposed the dictatorial Emergency and re-established democracy”.

The Congress’s “politically driven decision to impose a state of Emergency shook the very pillars of our democracy and tried to trample over the Constitution”, said Health Minister JP Nadda.

June 25, 1975- this is the day the Congress Party’s politically driven decision to impose a state of emergency shook the very pillars of our democracy and tried to trample over the Constitution given by Dr. Ambedkar.

During this period, those who today claim to be guardians of…

— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) June 25, 2024

“During this period, those who today claim to be guardians of Indian democracy left no effort to suppress voices raised in defence of constitutional values,” he added, taking a swipe at the main Opposition party.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted a news report to flag the excesses during Emergency such as forced mass sterilisation, press censorship and suspension of constitutional rights.

On the anniversary of the declaration of Emergency, recall the dark period for Indian democracy and the courage shown by those who resisted that challenge.

The collective response of the nation defined our generation. It will remain a constant reminder of the need to keep…

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 25, 2024

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar recalled “the dark period for Indian democracy and the courage shown by those who resisted that challenge”. “The collective response of the nation defined our generation. It will remain a constant reminder of the need to keep working to protect, preserve and fight for our democracy,” he said.