Trinamool Upset Over Speaker Nomination. Last-Minute Decision, Say Sources

Congress sources said it was a last-minute decision and they had to take a call on the issue 10 minutes before the noon deadline.

The nomination of K Suresh for the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker has ruffled feathers in Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which claims it was a unilateral decision by the Congress and it was not consulted. Congress sources said it was a last-minute decision and they had to take a call on the issue 10 minutes before the noon deadline. Mr Suresh, sources said, has reached out to the Trinamool Congress and sought their support.

In a first, the Opposition has decided to force an election for the post of the Speaker, fielding Mr Suresh, who they expected to be picked as the pro tem Speaker. They fielded Mr Suresh after the government did not respond to their demand for a Deputy Speaker -- a post traditionally filled from the Opposition ranks.

Congress's Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Opposition should constructively support the government. But "PM Modi does not want any constructive cooperation… The Deputy Speaker position should have gone to the opposition," he told reporters outside parliament.