| NEW DELHI: Rejecting Congress's criticism on the appointment of Lok Sabha secretary general, parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said due procedure was followed and there was no question of consultation in the absence of a recognized leader of opposition.
Senior Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat Anoop Mishra on Monday took over as Lok Sabha secretary general amid protest by Congress which contended that the procedure of consulting the opposition was not followed. The protests started soon after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan introduced Mishra in the House.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Naidu said the secretary general's appointment was the prerogative of the Speaker, who consults the leader of the House that is the prime minister and the recognized leader of opposition.
"In the present case, there is no recognized opposition leader. So, the question of consulting opposition leader as per the Act or the rules do not arise," Naidu said.
Dismissing Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's argument regarding not finding any official of the Lok Sabha secretariat capable of taking over as secretary general, Naidu said there were previous instances of people from outside being appointed to the post.
He said appointments to the post from outside the Lok Sabha secretariat were made during the tenure of United Front and also a Congress government. "So, they should not make issues out of non-issues. As they quote precedents and healthy conventions, they should also remember whether they have followed such conventions and precedents or not," Naidu said.
Immediately after the appointment was announced by the Speaker, Kharge rose to object to the manner in which Mishra was appointed. Kharge argued that he was not questioning the appointment but was only contending that due procedure of consulting the opposition was not followed.
As there is no recognized leader of opposition, she may not have consulted him regarding the appointment, he said. But at the same time, he pointed out that government was amending laws to include leader of largest opposition party in appointment process of officials like CBI chief in the absence of a recognized leader of opposition.
Kharge wondered whether no official of the Lok Sabha secretariat was capable of taking over as secretary general.
The Speaker said his appointment was her decision and she was willing to discuss the matter with Kharge in her chamber and the House was not the forum to discuss the issue. "I may be less knowledgeable than you, but I have also read some rules," the Speaker said. The issue led to a brief war of words between opposition and treasury benches.
Mishra, former chief secretary in Uttar Pradesh, was serving as secretary, transport department, in the state before being brought to the LS secretariat.
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