New Delhi: Rajasthan MP Om Birla was on Wednesday unanimously chosen as Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.The motion to choose Birla as the Speaker was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also Leader of the House, and passed by a voice vote. “That Shri Om Birla, a member of the is House, be chosen as the Speaker of the this House,” read the motion, seconded by defence minister Rajnath Singh.A similar motion was moved by home minister Amit Shah, which was supported by Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari.The Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) parties had moved notices for a similar motion. Even though heir notices had been issued after the midday deadline on Tuesday, as a ‘special case’, pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar allowed the motions to be moved.Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, DMK’s T.R. Baalu and Trinamool Congress’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, both backed Birla and urged him to be impartial as presiding officer of the Lower House, reported News18.Also read: Meet Om Birla, BJP Nominee for Next Lok Sabha SpeakerModi, who personally led Birla to his chair after the election, reported NDTV, highly praised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader with whom he has reportedly worked closely. “Jan seva (public service) has been the focal point of the politics of Om Birla. He is a compassionate leader who will preside over the sittings of the House,” Modi said.Soon after he was elected unanimously, congratulations began pouring in for Birla from like of former Union minister Arun Jaitley and Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and Biju Janata Dal president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik too tweeted their congratulations to him.Congratulations to Shri Om Birla on being elected as the Speaker of the 17th #LokSabha.I am sure that all Members will cooperate with him in ensuring smooth functioning of Lok Sabha & in strengthening Parliamentary traditions.My best wishes to Shri Om Birla. @ombirlakota pic.twitter.com/aCbS0VeGVT— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) June 19, 2019Congratulations to Shri Om Birla ji on being elected as Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha will be benefitted by the experience of Shri Birla ji. My best wishes to Shri #OmBirla ji for this proud assignment. @ombirlakota— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) June 19, 2019Heartiest congratulations to Shri Om Birla Ji, a compassionate & popular leader of people, on being unanimously elected as the Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha. pic.twitter.com/X9tulgVQSm— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) June 19, 2019Congratulate Shri Om Birla ji on being elected Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha. Under your leadership, the August House shall function as true custodian of democratic values and principles enshrined in Constitution . @ombirlakota— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 19, 2019Birla, a 57-year-old, first contested as an MLA from Kota in 2003 and kept winning the seat until 2014 when he won his first Lok Sabha election from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat. Birla has managed to retain the seat this year.A youth leader, Birla has been associated with the Sangh parivar since his student days and as a key leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, played an important role in the BJP-led Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1990s.Birla had also been in charge of organisational revamp in Rajasthan in 2018 when the then Vasundhara Raje Scindia government was facing strong anti-incumbency.(With PTI inputs)
