Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in the House during the recent Parliament session. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
An indication of a “live and thriving democracy” is how Om Birla described the rare election to the post of Lok Sabha Speaker, which he won in a voice vote against Opposition candidate K. Suresh, who is a member of the Congress.
The Opposition had pushed for the poll though it did not press for a division of votes. “These are signs of a live and thriving democracy,” Mr Birla said while commenting on the voting. The previous election for the post took place in 1976.
He is the first Speaker in 25 years to be re-elected as a Lok Sabha member for a second consecutive term. Congress’ Balram Jakhar completed two consecutive terms as the presiding officer of the House after being elected from Firozpur (Punjab) and Sikar (Rajasthan). However, Mr. Birla has been re-elected from the same parliamentary constituency for three consecutive terms.
‘Disagreements are part of democracy’
Taking a dim view of disruptions in the Lok Sabha during its first session after the formation of the new Government, he said that “agreements and disagreements are part of democracy”.
“The churning that happens due to diversity of views also helps the Government in a constructive way. The Government also gets to know the views of everyone. The more the views, the better,” he said, adding, “But one thing is clear that the people of the country also expect some difference between the discussion in Parliament and the debates on the streets.”
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha witnessed tumultuous scenes with Opposition members trooping into the Well of the House and raising slogans throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s over two-hour reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address.
Opposition INDIA bloc parties attacked the BJP-led NDA over the NEET-UG paper leak row and the violence in Manipur among other issues. Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha saw multiple adjournments.
He added that his endeavour as the Speaker is to ensure that MPs get an opportunity to put forth their views and noted that a stronger Opposition in the House was an opportunity to articulate the people’s views in a structured manner.
“These are not challenges but an opportunity. The people expect a strong Opposition to articulate its views in a proper manner, and the entire House be unanimous on matters of national interests,” he said.
