Three-time BJP MP Om Birla was elected Lok Sabha Speaker for the second time in a row today after the NDA candidate won the election by a voice vote. The election also saw a moment of rare bonhomie between the treasury and Opposition benches as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi walked up to Mr Birla to congratulated him and also shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As the House applauded Mr Birla on his election, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju escorted him to the Speaker’s chair. Congratulating Mr Birla, the Prime Minister said his “sweet smile keeps the entire House happy”. “It is a matter of honour that you have been elected to this chair for the second time,” the Prime Minister said.
Leaders of the Opposition also congratulated the Speaker, but added a sharp message that the Opposition must be allowed to speak, as they too represent the voice of the people.
“I am confident that you will allow us to speak. 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. So the idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution,” said Rahul Gandhi, who is now the Leader of the Opposition. Several leaders from the Opposition benches also brought up the mass suspension of MPs in the last term in their congratulatory messages.
This was only the third election for the Lok Sabha Speaker after Independence. The voting took place after the Congress forced a contest and fielded its eight-time MP K Suresh as a challenger. The numbers, however, were clearly on Mr Birla’s side. While the NDA candidate had the support of 297 MPs, the Opposition pick had 232.
The Lok Sabha Speaker is generally chosen with consensus. This time, the government had reached out to Opposition parties for their support. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had then responded that it will support the NDA candidate if the Deputy Speaker is appointed from the Opposition benches.
The government, however, made it clear that they are not considering a Deputy Speaker post, or the Opposition’s claim to it, for now. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “We appealed to them for support for the Speaker, but they said that they would support it but that they wanted the post of Deputy Speaker. We told them that the process of election for both posts is different. The process for choosing the Speaker is conducted before the Deputy Speaker. So it is not right to combine both.”
Mr Gandhi had yesterday hit out at the government, alleging that the Prime Minister speaks of cooperation, but acts differently. He said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was reaching out to Opposition parties for support, did not get back to Mr Kharge.
“Rajnath Singh called Mallikarjun Kharge and asked him to extend support… entire Opposition said we will support but convention is Deputy Speaker should be from our side. Rajnath Singh said he would call back… but he has not yet…PM is asking for cooperation but our leader is getting insulted.”
It must be noted that the Deputy Speaker’s post, traditionally given to an Opposition MP, was vacant in the last Lok Sabha. In the one before that, the BJP had named its ally AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai.
