Rahul Gandhi approves appointment of CP Joshi as Rajasthan Assembly Speaker, Mahesh Joshi as chief whip

Congress party president Rahul Gandhi has today approved the appointment of CP Joshi as the Rajasthan Assembly speaker. According to the sources, the senior Congress party leader will soon become the 15th Rajasthan Assembly speaker. The election of the new speaker will be held on January 16. Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh will administer the oath of office on the same day.

Rahul Gandhi has also approved the appointment of Mahesh Joshi as chief whip, and Mahendra Chaudhary as deputy chief whip. CP Joshi was the Member of Parliament from Bhilwara in the 15th Lok Sabha and had served as the Union Minister For Road Transport and Highways from 2009 to 2013.

Senior BJP legislator Gulab Chand Kataria took oath as the pro term speaker of the Rajasthan Assembly on Monday. He will conduct the first meeting of the 15th Legislative Assembly beginning Tuesday.

Once a new speaker is elected, Kataria, who was the home minister in the previous government, will be the leader of opposition, while Rajendra Rathore will be his deputy (leader of opposition) in the assembly.