Bharatiya Janata Party MP Bhartruhari Mahtab on Monday took oath as the pro tem speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. He will hold the post till a full-time speaker is elected on June 26.

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath ahead of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha that convened on Monday and will end on July 3.

In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election, Mahtab won the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. He had represented the constituency six times earlier on a Biju Janata Dal ticket. The 66-year-old switched to the BJP on March 28.

Last week, the Congress had contended that Mahtab’s appointment was contrary to the convention that the MP who has served the most number of terms in the Lower House of Parliament should be named as the pro tem speaker.

“The senior-most MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha are Kodikunnil Suresh [Congress] and Virendra Kumar [BJP], both of who are now serving their 8th term,” Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said. “The latter is now a Union minister and hence it was expected that Kodikunnil Suresh would be the Speaker Protem.”

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said that Mahtab’s appointment was “yet another attempt” by the BJP to destroy parliamentary norms.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the people of the country want substance not slogans from the Opposition. “People expect good steps from the Opposition but it has been disappointing so far,” Modi said.

He added that the citizens of the country want debate not drama or ruckus in Parliament.

“The country does not want slogans, it wants substance,” he said. “The country needs a good Opposition, a responsible Opposition.”

The Opposition MPs on Monday carried copies of the Constitution to Parliament and shouted the slogan: “Who will save the Constitution? We will, we will.”

Responding to Modi’s comments, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that the prime minister should follow the advice that he is offering to the Opposition.

“People have given their mandate against Modi ji,” Kharge said in a social media post. “Despite this, if he has become the prime minister, then he should work.”

Kharge added that the Opposition INDIA bloc wants consensus in Parliament. “We will continue to raise the voice of the people in the House, on the streets and before everyone,” Kharge added.

Also read: BJP’s coalition partners may stop new laws curbing liberties being passed – but older ones remain