The Lok Sabha on Wednesday unanimously elected BJP nominee, Om Birla as the Speaker of the House as the leading Opposition parties Congress and DMK chose to support his nomination. Conscious of their dwindled strength in the 17th Lok Sabha, the Opposition parties had not forwarded any name as nominee. Despite the delay, pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar allowed the motions of support of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress, T R Baalu of DMK, Jayadev Galla of TDP and Sudip Bandyopadhyay of Trinamool to keep the spirit of unity in the House.
Birla was introduced to the House by PM Modi himself who was also the first one to move the motion to elect him. He later walked from his seat to usher Birla to the Speaker's chair amid all round applause.
Welcoming the Speaker, PM Modi said, "I have had the privilege of working with Shri Birla who was primarily responsible for making Kota, the Kashi of education." He also recalled Birla's exemplary contribution in rehabilitation works during Kutch earthquake, and Uttarakhand floods.
SOCIAL WORK STREAK
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- The prime minister heaped praise on the two-time BJP MP for his long public life, going back to his student days, and recalled his social work in Kota, Rajasthan, and in other parts of the country, including during the 2011 earthquake in Gujarat and the 2013 floods in Uttarakhand
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Evoking laughter in the House, PM Modi said in a lighter vein that he is worried that people might misuse the soft nature of the Speaker but he must not lose his trademark smile ever.
PM Modi requested the Speaker not to hesitate to invoke a rule against him, if needed.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the newly appointed leader of Congress parliamentary party advised the Speaker to allow Opposition the space to debate, dissent and decision making as he is the custodian of the House.
Chowdhury said during the last session many Bills were not scrutinised by Standing Committees and many were turned into ordinance that must be avoided.
DMK leader T R Baalu said, "The Speaker must be like a lotus in the water. You may be from the BJP, but you be like a lotus that doesn't stick to water."
Sending a signal that Trinamool would be vociferous in the House, Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "Brute majoritarianism affects the functioning of Parliament…We are in favour of discussions taken in the floor as the house belongs to the Opposition."
Reminding the Speaker of his discretionary powers, AIMIM lone MP Asaduddin Owaisi said, "The Speaker must ensure the elected government does not become a monarchy."
The new Speaker on his part recalled the period he was a member in the House and said, "The post of Speaker should not only be impartial but look impartial. We are the largest democracy. We have the responsibility of keeping up the faith of people who stood in queues for hours to elect us.'"
