Second term for Birla as LS Speaker; Oppn appeals ‘allow us to raise voice of people’

NEW DELHI: NDA nominee Om Birla was elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha for a second time in a row by voice vote on Wednesday. Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Birla elected as the Opposition did not press for a division of votes. In a rare move INDIA bloc had proposed its own candidate K Suresh of the Congress for the post of Speaker.

Mahtab said that with the election of Om Birla, the other motions to propose and second the candidature of K Suresh became infructuous.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who moved the motion for Birla’s election as Speaker, lauded the balance he showed in maintaining decorum of the House during his previous term in the 17th Lok Sabha. Several Opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, congratulated Birla too, stressing on “impartiality” and hoping he would allow them to raise the voice of the people and not apply his restraint orders only to Opposition benches.

This is the fifth time that a Speaker will serve beyond the tenure of one Lok Sabha. It is also among the rare few occasions that an election became necessary for a post conventionally decided by consensus.

As he assumed charge, Birla read out a resolution condemning the Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and asked members to observe a moment’s silence, causing a firestorm and triggering a wave of vociferous protests by the Opposition.

“Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India... Indira Gandhi imposed a dictatorship on such an India. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled,” Birla said while reading the resolution.

PM Modi welcomed the Speaker’s reference to the Emergency in the Lok Sabha and said it was important for the youths as the period was a “fitting example of what happens when the Constitution is trampled over, public opinion is stifled and institutions are destroyed”.

While Congress members raised slogans against the reference to the Emergency in the Lok Sabha, BJP MPs gathered in huge numbers on the footsteps of the Parliament building to protest against the suspension of civil liberties 49 years ago.

Earlier, after the election of Birla, PM Modi and Leader of Opposition Gandhi escorted Birla to the Speaker’s chair. Gandhi also shook hands with PM Modi before escorting him.

In his address, the first in the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi said Birla’s work as a parliamentarian should be an inspiration for new Lok Sabha members. He said Birla presided over a golden era in Lok Sabha history with a number of historic decisions taken during its previous term.

Modi lauded the balance shown by him in maintaining the decorum of the House which also involved taking several tough decisions. He expressed gratitude towards Birla for choosing to uphold the values of the House while maintaining traditions.

The prime minister emphasised that the functioning of the House, conduct and accountability deepen the foundation of democracy in the country.

Congratulating Birla, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi pointed out that the Opposition this time represents significantly more voices of the Indian people than last time. He and other Opposition MPs hoped they would be allowed to raise the voice of people in the House and incidents like the suspension of MPs will not be repeated.

Countering the government’s claim that the previous Lok Sabha clocked high productivity, the Congress leader also said running the House by silencing the Opposition is an undemocratic idea. “This House represents the voice of the people of India... Of course, the government has political power, but the Opposition also represents the voice of India’s people….I am confident you will allow us to speak in the House,” he said.

The question, he said, is not how efficiently the House is run, but the question is how much of India’s voice is allowed to be heard in the House. “The idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of Opposition is a non-democratic idea.

“This election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution of this country and we are confident that by allowing Opposition to speak, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution of India,” the Congress MP said.

Akhilesh Yadav hoped that actions like suspension of MPs would not be taken as they hurt the dignity of the House. “We believe you will move forward without discrimination and as the Speaker, you will give equal opportunity and respect to every party. Impartiality is a great responsibility of this great post,” Yadav said.

“We expect that the voice of no public representative will be suppressed and actions like suspensions which hurt the dignity of the House will not be taken,” he said. On similar lines, TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the suspension of MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha was “not desired”.

“It is my firm belief and so far as parliamentary democratic practice is concerned, the House belongs to the Opposition. This attitude needs to be adopted by the ruling party,” he said.

DMK’s T R Baalu also reminded the Speaker that he should treat the Opposition and the ruling party in the same manner.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, meanwhile, said: “The character of the House has changed and BJP won’t be able to steamroll... I hope that the government will lessen your burden by electing a Deputy Speaker.”

Similar concerns were expressed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP Amraam, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule, RSP MP N K Premchandran. All of them hoped that the Opposition’s voice would not be crushed.

In his remarks, Speaker Om Birla said: “Treasury and Opposition benches run the House together, the strength of Indian democracy is in listening to everyone, and running the House with everyone’s agreement. I expect that I will run the House with everyone’s agreement. Even if there is a lone member from a party, they should get sufficient time.

“It will be my expectation that the House runs without obstruction. We are elected by people with hope, which is why I urge there should not be disruptions in the House.” There can be criticism, but obstruction is not a tradition of the House, Birla said.

“I never want to act against any member, but everyone wants the high standard of parliamentary tradition to be maintained. For that I have to make tough decisions at times,” the Speaker said.

Union Minister and LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan took a jibe at the Opposition for forcing an election for the Speaker’s post. In many Opposition-ruled states, he said, the post of both Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the assembly is held by the ruling party.

Birla’s election follows a rare showdown by both the ruling alliance and the Opposition bloc after the effort for a consensus was failed.

The Opposition’s last-minute decision to go for a contest came after senior BJP leaders did not agree to the precondition that the INDIA bloc must be offered the post of deputy Speaker in lieu of supporting Birla.

With the NDA having 293 MPs and the INDIA bloc 233 in the Lok Sabha, the numbers were clearly stacked in favour of Birla. The Lok Sabha currently has 542 members after Rahul Gandhi resigned from one of the two seats he was elected from. Balram Jakhar is the only presiding officer to have served two complete terms extending the seventh and eighth Lok Sabha.