Om Birla begins 2nd innings with condemnation of ‘dictatorial Congress which imposed Emergency’
Image credit Lok Sabha Secretariat
Lok Sabha elects Om Birla as Speaker with voice vote
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, June 26: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday elected the National democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee, Om Birla, as the Speaker of the House. The Lok Sabha elected Birla with voice vote.
The Congress candidate, K. Suresh, an eight-term MP, had challenged Birla in the election for the Speaker’s post. This was the fourth occasion when the Speaker of the House was decided through an election.
The Opposition didn’t insist on division of votes. The Congress communication department head, Jairam Ramesh, said that the Opposition sent out the message of cooperation in running the businesses of the Lok Sabha by not insisting on division of votes.
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Birla was also the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, congratulated Birla on assuming the Chair of the House.
After his customary speech, Birla took up a resolution on the 50th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in the country. The resolution was not moved by Union Minister for parliamentary affairs, Kiren Rijiju.
Birla himself took up the resolution, and delivered an almost eight-minute-long speech on the anniversary of the imposition of Emergency.
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Birla’s speech was laced with phases such as “dictatorial Congress which imposed Emergency”, “black day in the history of Indian democracy”. “Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency”, and others.
Birla’s long speech on excesses committed during the Emergency brought ruckus in the lower House of parliament. While treasury benches followed the command of Birla for a two-minute silence, the Congress MPs remained seated on their benches.
The first job on assuming office of the Speaker by Birla didn’t elicit the support of the full house in the Lok Sabha. Modi hailed Birla for taking up the resolution on Emergency.
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“I am glad that the Honourable Speaker strongly condemned the Emergency, highlighted the excesses committed during that time and also mentioned the manner in which democracy was strangled. It was also a wonderful gesture to stand in silence in honour of all those who suffered during those days,” said Modi in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Gandhi conveyed a subtle message to Birla while speaking on the inauguration of the Speaker. “The Opposition also represents the voice of India. The Opposition now represents more voices of India than earlier. The Chair should ensure that this voice of India is heard in the House,” said Gandhi.
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