Will work in an unbiased manner: Birla
New Delhi: As Om Birla, a BJP MP from Kota parliamentary constituency, was unanimously elected as Lok Sabha Speaker, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his party and all the other members of the House for putting their faith in him.
After taking the charge as Speaker of 17th session of Lok Sabha, Birla said that the Modi government is more answerable to the people of India than ever.
While ensuring to provide equal opportunities to each and every member irrespective of their political affiliation or size of their respective parties, the newly appointed Speaker said that he would perform his duties without bias and not take sides.
Talking to reporters, Birla said that his appointment to the post came with its own fair share of responsibilities which he would try to fulfil in the days to come. "Will have to take forward everyone together while keeping the integrity of the House intact, it is very important to do so and that is what I will try to do in the days ahead," Birla said.
Birla's name for the post of Speaker was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was supported by all major Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, DMK, and BJD. The YSRCP and TDP also supported Birla's candidature.
Soon after Birla's appointment, PM Modi, Leader of the Congress party Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and a number of other opposition leaders escorted Birla to the Speaker's chair.
"It is a matter of great pride for the House and we all congratulate Om Birla on being unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Many MPs know Birla well. He has served in the state of Rajasthan also," the PM said.
Felicitating newly-elected Speaker shortly after his election in Lok Sabha, Ramadas Athawale, who heads one of the factions of RPI and known for witty remarks, said that he was approached by the Congress party before the elections but he spurned them because he knew the "wind" was blowing in favour of Modi.
Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi on his party's poor show in the Lok Sabha election, Athawale said, "I congratulate you that you got the opportunity to sit there (in the Opposition benches)".
The unopposed election of Birla, a two-time BJP MP from Kota in Rajasthan, was a smooth affair, however, it broke the record of women holding the post for the past 10 years.
In 2009, Meira Kumar became the first woman to be elected to the post during the UPA-2, while the NDA followed suit by nominating Sumitra Mahajan in 2014.
An agriculturist and social worker, the low-profile leader, Birla, has been active in politics from his student days and served as state unit president of the Bhartiya Yuva Morcha in 1991 and as vice-president at the national level.
Birla was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Kota where he defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes. He was elected to the last Lok Sabha from the same seat.
Born on November 23, 1962, Birla completed his Masters in Commerce from Government Commerce College, Kota and the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer.
In 2003, he defeated Shanti Dhariwal, of the Congress by a margin of 10,101 votes, to win his first assembly election from Kota South. Subsequently, he won the assembly polls in 2008 and 2013. Birla was also the Parliamentary Secretary (MoS rank) in the Vasundhara Raje government from 2003 to 2008.
In the 16th Lok Sabha, Birla was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy in Parliament and member of Committee on Petitions and Consultative Committee for Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
