Om Birla wins elections for Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, re-nominated for second consecutive term
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday elected BJP-led NDA candidate Om Birla as the Speaker by voice vote. Pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Om Birla the Speaker of the lower house, and the I.N.D.I.A bloc did not press for a division vote.
The election for the Lok Sabha Speaker post was held in the Parliament for the first time in decades owing to a lack of consensus between the BJP-led NDA government and the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A bloc opposition. The Congress had fielded Kodikunnil Suresh as its Lok Sabha Speaker candidate against BJP’s Om Birla.
Following Birla’s election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him and said he looks forward to the Speaker’s guidance for the next five years. “Your sweet smile keeps the entire House happy…The previous Lok Sabha passed several path-breaking legislations under your leadership,” PM Modi told Birla while addressing the Lok Sabha.
The leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, also extended wishes to Birla and accompanied him to the chair along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and PM Modi. Rahul Gandhi in his speech emphasized the Speaker’s role in upholding the Constitution and allowing the opposition a voice.
“Congratulate you on behalf of the entire opposition and the I.N.D.I. Alliance. By allowing the opposition to speak, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution of India,” said Rahul Gandhi, urging the new Speaker to acknowledge the significance of opposition representation in the House. “Government may have political power, but opposition also represents the voice of the people.” He said.
“I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak, and allow us to represent the voice of the people of India. The question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice is being allowed to be heard in this House. The idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is non-democratic. This election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution,” Gandhi said.
Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected through a consensus between the ruling party and the opposition. However, an indecision between the two promoted an election this time. Such an election for the post has been held only three times in history—1952, 1967, and 1976.
Om Birla, born in 1962, is the 18th Lok Sabha Speaker. He was a two-term MP when he was made the Lok Sabha Speaker in 2019. Birla’s political career began in 1987 as the district president of the BJP’s youth wing in Kota. In 2003, he won the Kota Assembly seat for the first time and remained a Rajasthan lawmaker until 2014, when he won his first Lok Sabha election from Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha.
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