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

SPEAKER'S RESOLUTION ON EMERGENCY TRIGGERS PROTESTS

- VINAY KUMAR & SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

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”.