Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior BJP MLA Raman Singh on Sunday (December 17) filed his nomination for the post of speaker of the newly-elected legislative assembly of the state. He also resigned from the post of National Vice President of the BJP after submitting his nomination for the post of Speaker in the Assembly. This comes after senior BJP MLA Ramvichar Netam was sworn in as the pro-tem speaker by the governor ahead of the first session of the sixth assembly of Chhattisgarh scheduled to start from December 19.
Pro-tem speaker is a temporary position of a speaker appointed for a limited period of time to facilitate the conduct of the business of the House in absence of a regular speaker.
Raman Singh, the 71-year-old MLA from the Rajnandgaon seat, filed the nomination papers for the speaker's post in the assembly building premises, an assembly official said.
He was accompanied by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Deputy CMs Arun Sao and Vijay Sharma, Congress legislature party leader Charan Das Mahant, who was speaker in the outgoing Chhattisgarh assembly, and former CM Bhupesh Baghel.
“Senior leaders from both the ruling and opposition sides submitted proposals supporting Singh's nomination,” the official said.
What did Raman Singh say after filing nomination?
After filing his nomination, Singh said that his new responsibility will be to take everyone along in the state Assembly. He expressed gratitude to Congress leaders Mahant and Baghel for supporting his nomination.
CM Sai and other senior leaders of the BJP have also unanimously passed a proposal (supporting his nomination), Singh said expressing gratitude to all members of the newly-elected assembly.
"I will be in a new role. My new responsibility will be to take everyone together in the Vidhan Sabha. My responsibility will be to strike a balance between the ruling and opposition camps. I will discharge my new responsibility and try to take the state Vidhan Sabha to new heights," Singh said.
Baghel extends support
Talking to reporters, Bhupesh Baghel said Raman Singh will be elected unopposed as the speaker of the state assembly and congratulated him.
Baghel also congratulated Mahant, who was on Saturday elected as the Congress legislature party leader in Chhattisgarh.
The Congress, which ruled Chhattisgarh for last five years, suffered a defeat in the recently held state assembly elections, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) making a stunning comeback to power by bagging 54 of the 90 seats.
The Congress, which won 68 seats in the state 2018, was reduced to 35 seats this time, while Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) managed to win one seat.
Raman Singh, a seven-term MLA, won from Rajnandgaon seat for four consecutive terms - in 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2023.
(With PTI inputs)
