The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Om Birla on Wednesday, June 26, was elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha in an election which took place for the first time after two decades. The election was necessitated after the BJP-led NDA and the opposition's INDIA bloc failed to reach a consensus over the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the House.
Three-time MP defeated the INDIA Block's candidate for speaker and eight-time MP from Kerala, Mavelikara Kodikunnil Suresh, in the election on Wednesday. The motion to elect Om Birla to the chair was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was adopted by a voice vote with the pro-tem Speaker announcing it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accompany Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the chair.
PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi Accompany Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the Chair
The first speech after Om Birla stepped into the chair was made by the Prime Minister, who told the beaming speaker that it is an honour to the House to have you in the chair for a second term. The Prime Minister expressed the hope that Om Birla's five years of experience as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha will help him steer the House in the right direction and lead it to newer heights.
"I would like to congratulate you for the successful election that you have been elected for the second time. I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the entire Opposition and the INDIA alliance. This House represents the voice of India's people and you are the final arbiter of that voice. The government has political power but the opposition also represents the voice of India's people and this time, the opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people than it did last time. The opposition would like to assist you in doing your work. We would like the House to function often and well. It is very important that cooperation happens on the basis of trust. It is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House," said LoP Rahul Gandhi.