The process for electing the new Speaker of the Tripura Legislative Assembly will begin on March 16, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ratan Lal Nath announced on Friday following the second meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC).
The meeting was held at the office of Deputy Speaker Ram Prasad Paul after the first day of the ongoing Assembly session was adjourned following the Governor’s address.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Nath said the BAC had finalised the schedule for the Speaker’s election. “The committee decided that an announcement regarding the election of the Speaker will be made on March 16 as all members of the House are present. The nomination papers for the post will be filed on March 17,” he said.
According to the minister, if only one candidate files nomination for the post, the name of the new Speaker will be formally announced on March 18. However, if more than one candidate enters the fray, the Assembly will hold a vote through ballot papers on the same day.
“In case there are multiple candidates, voting will be conducted through ballot papers on March 18. The election will be taken up as the first business of the day,” Nath added. He further said that the exact number of candidates contesting the election will be known after the nomination process concludes on March 17.
The election for the Speaker’s post has been necessitated following the demise of former Speaker Biswabandhu Sen in December last year.
Apart from the Speaker’s election, the BAC also reviewed the legislative agenda for the ongoing session. Nath informed that while three Bills were initially proposed during the first BAC meeting, the government has now decided to introduce seven additional Bills in the Assembly.
“These proposed legislations include the Lifts and Escalators Bill, the Ease of Doing Business Bill, amendments to the Maharaja Bir Bikram University Bill, the Science and Technology Allied Skill University Bill and the International University Bill, among others,” he said.
The committee agreed that the additional legislative business would be taken up and completed within the scheduled duration of the Assembly session.
