Leader of the Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary, who discussed the proposal with the Chief Minister, told Express Newsline this evening that ``Keshubhai's response to the Congress proposal is positive and he honestly believes that the post should go to the main Opposition party as per the convention and tradition of the House''.

If the proposal is through, senior Congress member and former Civil Supplies Minister Manubhai Parmar is most likely to take over as Deputy Speaker with the status of a Minister of State.

``Manubhai is the consensus candidate of the Congress for the Deputy Speaker's post'', disclosed Chaudhary.

The post had been embroiled in a controversy when the late chief minister Chimanbhai Patel had denied it to the then main opposition BJP. In a departure from the convention, Chimanbhai Patel had then rejected the BJP's proposal to elect Fakirbhai Vaghela to the post and instead got Independent member Mansinh Patel elected the Deputy Speaker.

Chimanbhai's decision had invited strong protests from the BJP whose members had even staged a walkout. In fact, Chimanbhai was not against giving the post to the Bharatiya Janata Party. But, since he had developed strong dislike against Fakirbhai Vaghela, he had then requested the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to suggest some other name from the party for the Deputy Speakership, which the BJP had not done.

However, when the Keshubhai Patel Government assumed reins of power after the BJP's thumping victory in the 1995 polls, the BJP allotted the post of Deputy Speakership to Congress member Chandubhai Dabhi in keeping with the convention.

Later, the BJP leadership felt let down when Dabhi, while presiding over the House in the absence of the Speaker, gave controversial ruling that had led to the fall of the then Suresh Mehta ministry.

According to Assembly Secretariate sources, though Keshubhai may be wanting to forget the political bitterness of the recent past and considering the Congress proposal to allot the post of Deputy Speakership to the party, the ``hardliners'' within the ruling BJP may think otherwise, for they are still nursing the insult inflicted by the late Chimanbhai Patel. The ``hardliners'' are also aware of the ``controversial'' role Dabhi had played while presiding over the House, which had led to the ouster of the Suresh Mehta Government in 1996, the sources pointed out.