Om Birla begins second tenure as LS Speaker, Opposition hopes "no more expulsions"

New Delhi [India], June 26 : Om Birla was elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker for the second time in a row after the motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was adopted by the House through a voice vote on Wednesday.
On his re-election to the House, Birla thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders of parties in the House and Members of Parliament for their support.
Speaking on occasion, Birla urged that there should be a new vision and resolve for the 18th Lok Sabha. He called for the 18th Lok Sabha to be a centre of creative thinking and new ideas, which would establish high levels of parliamentary traditions and dignity and added that the aim of the House should be to fulfil the resolve of Viksit Bharat.
The house echoed with 'Ayes' and 'Noes' and the pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Om Birla as the Speaker of the lower house. The opposition which had named K Suresh as the Speaker candidate of the INDIA bloc did not press for a division vote.
Om Birla urged all the members of the House to have "dignified discussions" of agreement and disagreement by the ruling side and the opposition.
Wishing Birla on his re-election as Speaker of the Lower House, Prime Minister Modi said that it is a huge responsibility to sit in this post for the second time during the Amrit Kaal. PM Modi also asserted that the decision taken in the 17th Lok Sabha under the presidency of Om Birla will be considered a golden period in parliamentary history.
"Respected Speaker, it is the good fortune of the House that you are occupying this chair for the second time. I congratulate you and the entire House. I want to congratulate you on behalf of the House. It is a huge responsibility for you to sit on this post for the second time during the Amrit Kaal. With your experience, we hope that you will guide us for the next 5 years. 'Aapke chehre par yeh meethi meethi muskaan poore Sadan ko prasann rakhti hai'," he said.
The Prime Minister said that becoming the Speaker for the second time is a record in itself.
"Balram Jakhar got the opportunity to serve as the Speaker for the second term after completing five years and today you are doing the same. The way you work as an MP is worth learning. Your style will inspire our young MPs," PM Modi added.
PM Modi also pointed out that under Birla's guidance, the productivity of the 17th Lok Sabha has been the highest in 25 years at 97 per cent.
"For this, you deserve special congratulations. During Corona, you called every MP and enquired about their well-being. Even during that time, you did not let the work of the house stop. During the Corona period, the productivity of the house increased by 170 per cent. This is very big news for the world," he said.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi congratulated Om Birla on his re-election and said that the Lok Sabha Speaker is the final arbiter of the voice of the people, and the Opposition this time represents that voice significantly more than the 17th Lok Sabha.
"I would like to congratulate you for the successful election that you have been elected for the second time. I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the entire Opposition and the INDIA alliance," Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi also assured the Speaker on behalf of the entire opposition of assisting the speaker in the functioning of the House.
"We would like the House to function often and well. Cooperation must happen based on trust. It is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House," Rahul Gandhi said.
Congratulating Birla, Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav said that the Opposition expects that its "voice will not be crushed".
"I congratulate our newly elected speaker along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of the Opposition. You have been again selected as the speaker. You have a 5-year experience as a Speaker as well as experience of the old and new sansad," Yadav said.
"We expect that no public representative's voice will be stifled, nor will an action like expulsion take place again. Your control is on the Opposition but it should be on the ruling side too. The House should function on your signals and not the other way around," the SP chief said.
NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule said, "In five years, you have done very good work. But when 150 of my colleagues were suspended, we were all saddened. So, it should be an effort to see that you do not think of suspension in the next 5 years. We are always ready for dialogues."
Responding to the Opposition's concerns, 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. I will expect that the House runs without obstruction. We are elected by people with hope, that 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. Rushing to the Well is not a tradition of Parliament."
"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 will expect that I run the House with everyone's agreement. Even if there is lone member from a party, they should get sufficient time," Birla said.
Birla, during his speech, expressed confidence that the 18th Lok Sabha will uphold its commitment to preserve and protect the Constitution created by Baba Saheb. Birla noted that the 18th Lok Sabha will remain committed to the rule of law and decentralization of powers in the country.
On the occasion of the completion of 50 years of Emergency imposed on June 26, 1975, the speaker praised the strength and determination of all those who strongly opposed the Emergency, fought and protected India's democracy.
Expressing happiness over the presence of 281 first-time MPs in the 18th Lok Sabha, Birla welcomed them in the House and expressed hope that the Members elected for the first time will make a deep study of the rules and traditions of the House, and take advantage of the experiences and guidance of their senior colleagues to enrich the best parliamentary traditions.
Speaking about the functioning of the House, Birla said that in a democracy, Members of Parliament are elected from diverse backgrounds and ideologies, and there may be ideological opposition, but discussions in the House must be dignified. He added that there should be positive criticism of the government's policies and decisions, but there should be no pre-planned disruption of House proceedings. There must be a difference between protest in Parliament and protest on the streets. Birla said that the conduct of Members in Parliament should be courteous and meaningful dialogue should take place in a healthy environment. He added that to run the House, the consent of all parties and cooperation of all is necessary.
Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab conducted the election process. Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved the motion for election of the Speaker, which was seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Union ministers, leaders of parties and other Members of Parliament also moved motions calling for the re-election of Birla. Arvind Ganpat Sawant, MP moved the motion for election of K Suresh, MP as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Among others, the motion was seconded by NK Premachandran, MP.
The motion was put to vote by Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab and after voting, Om Birla was declared the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. Thereafter, Mahtab invited Birla to take the Speaker's Chair and conduct the proceedings of the House.