K Suresh is the opposition’s choice for the role of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, an 8 time Dalit MP from Kerala. He has been a member of the parliament since 1989.
Story: Nitya Kaimal
For only the fourth time in Indian history and the first this century, the opposition in the Lok Sabha called for a vote to select the Speaker of the House. Their candidate was K Suresh, a Dalit MP from Kerala. He won the SC-reserved seat of Mavelikkara, Kerala, by ten thousand votes.
Suresh lost the vote, and the NDA’s candidate Om Birla is once again the speaker of the house, but this vote has incited a lot of curiosity and a resurgence of information about K Suresh and his past. News of his ‘caste-certificate scare’ is making its rounds.
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Kodikunnil Suresh is an 8 time member of parliament and was elected for the first time into the Lok Sabha in 1989 from the Adoor constituency. He has contested elections ten times and lost only twice, in 1998 and 2004. He held the position of Working President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in 2018 and was also the secretary of the All India Congress Committee. Additionally, he has also served as the Union Minister of State of Labour and Employment.
In 2009, K Suresh won the Lok Sabha elections but was accused of producing a fake caste certificate by his competitor, who said that Suresh was not from a Scheduled caste, but a Christian. This matter was taken to the Kerala High Court, which ruled against Suresh and promptly declared his election to the Lower House as null and void. However, the decision was appealed and the matter was then taken up by the Supreme Court, which overturned the previous judgement and validated Suresh’s identity as a member of a Scheduled Caste.
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This vote comes after no consensus was reached between the government and the opposition for the role of the Speaker of the House. The opposition was also dissatisfied with the lack of discussion on the position of the deputy speaker. For the fourth time in history, the opposition called for a vote for the position, being able to do so due to their stronger numbers after the recent elections. The Trinamool Congress said they were not consulted on the decision to call for a vote, but after discussion have given their support to K Suresh, the senior-most MP and the opposition’s choice for Speaker. This morning, Om Birla was officially voted in as the next Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
*दलित टाइम्स उन करोड़ो लोगो की आवाज़ है जिन्हें हाशिए पर रखा गया है। *
महिला, दलित और आदिवासियों के मुद्दों पर केंद्रित पत्रकारिता करने और मुख्यधारा की मीडिया में इनका प्रतिनिधित्व करने के लिए हमें आर्थिक सहयोग करें।
