Meira Kumar to Be First Woman LS Speaker
Going by the latest indications, Meira Kumar, who was sworn in as a Cabinet minister after UPA’s overwhelming victory, might become first woman Lok Sabha Speaker.
The indication came as Meira Kumar met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Sunday, a day after the assumption that UPA, which installed Pratibha Patil as country’s first woman President during its first term, is considering to give Lok Sabha its first woman Speaker.
Needless add, besides Meira Kumar, the name of Girja Vyas was also doing the rounds for the coveted post yesterday.
The decision to filed a woman for the respected rank emerged in a meeting of the top leadership of the Congress party attended among others Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The meeting was held two days ahead of first session of the parliament.
In the meeting of Congress core group held at PM’s residence, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Defence Minister AK Antony were prominently present.
The party initially appeared to be planning to field Kishore Chandra Deo, a senior Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh, for the post but later put his name on the back burner.
The Congress leadership is also reported to have decided to offer the post of Deputy Speaker to the Opposition BJP-led NDA as per convention.
