Lok Sabha Speaker Election: It’s official now! Om Birla, the NDA nominee, has been elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker today, June 26, through a motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and adopted via voice votes.
The house echoed with ‘Ayes’ and ‘Noes’, and the pro-tem speaker, Bhartruhari Mahtab, declared Om Birla the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament. The opposition, which had fielded K Suresh as the INDIA bloc’s candidate, did not press for a division vote.
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“I declare Om Birla as the Speaker,” Mahtab announced.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi escorted Om Birla to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair. “I congratulate you on behalf of the entire House and look forward to your guidance for the next five years,” said Modi.
“Your warm smile brightens up the entire House,” Modi said to Om Birla.
For the first time in almost five decades, the Lok Sabha Speaker was elected by vote due to a lack of consensus between the NDA and the INDIA bloc. The opposition had agreed to concede the top post on the condition that the Deputy Speaker be from their camp. Traditionally, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected through consensus between the ruling party and the opposition.
Today, Narendra Modi moved the motion in the Lok Sabha to elect Om Birla as Speaker amid a tussle for the post with the opposition’s INDIA bloc.
The battle for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post was between BJP’s Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota, Rajasthan, and Kodikunnil Suresh, an eight-term parliamentarian from Mavelikara, Kerala. This followed the NDA’s rejection of the opposition INDIA bloc’s demand to allocate the Deputy Speaker’s position to them in exchange for their support for the NDA nominee.
With 293 MPs in the 543-member Lok Sabha, the NDA showcased its majority to ensure Om Birla’s return to the position he held in the 17th Lok Sabha.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha commenced on June 24 and is scheduled to conclude on July 3.
-With agency inputs
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Published: 26 Jun 2024, 11:20 AM IST