Maneka Gandhi named pro-tem Speaker, son Varun Gandhi kept out of new Modi govt

Maneka Gandhi, who was WCD minister, frequently locked horns with BJP brass on issues such as triple talaq, female genital mutilation and animal rights.

Maneka Gandhi (left) with Varun Gandhi (right) |PTI

New Delhi: The 2019 Lok Sabha elections have delivered setbacks for many political dynasties in India, and now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also decided to keep out the mother-son duo of Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi out of his government.

However, Maneka, an eight-time Lok Sabha MP, who won from Sultanpur this time, has been named pro-tem Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Convention dictates that the senior-most MP in the Lok Sabha — irrespective of party — is chosen as the pro-tem or temporary Speaker, who then administers oath to the newly-elected MPs, and convenes the first sitting of the House, during which a new Speaker is elected for the Lok Sabha’s entire term.

There is a chance that Maneka, who was the women and child development minister in the previous Modi government, could also be elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

No surprise

For some, Maneka not getting a berth in the second Modi government is no surprise.

As WCD minister, she frequently locked horns with the party brass on issues such as triple talaq, female genital mutilation (FGM) and animal rights.

A senior BJP leader had earlier told ThePrint that while the party high command did not take take any action against her in the past, the run-ins were “not being appreciated”.

“She’s already a minister, so right now, the party high command will just look the other way, but it is certainly not being appreciated,” the BJP member had said on the condition of anonymity.

“Our party believes in the culture of uchit sthaan, uchit samay, which means things should be said at the right time and in the right forum, so if she’s breaking that tradition, she will slowly but surely be sidelined,” the leader had said.

Why Varun is out

As for Varun Gandhi, it is well known that he has not enjoyed a good rapport with PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, who was sworn-in as cabinet minister.

Varun, who has been elected MP for the third time (second time from Pilibhit), had not received a ministerial berth in 2014 either. Some had spoken of him as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, but he was ignored in favour of Yogi Adityanath.