Spotlight on Lok Sabha Speaker while Om Birla counts luck
Image credit X @OmBirla
Will BJP again trust Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker?
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, June 12: The government has recommended summoning of parliament session from June 24. First, the newly-elected members of the Lok Sabha will be given oath of the House.
The Lok Sabha will elect the senior most leader from its rank for the post of the protem Speaker.
He will administer the oath to the newly-elected members. Afterwards the business of the House will accord priority to electing the new Lok Sabha Speaker.
Will the will the BJP MP from Kota in Rajasthan, Om Birla, be once more the Lok Sabha Speaker? That is a question which is at the top of the minds among the political observers.
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Bharatiya Janata Party has not repeated its Lok Sabha Speaker in the last two terms of the BJP rule at the Centre. Sumitra Mahajan was the Lok Sabha Speaker after the BJP won majority of own in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
She was not given the chance to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Indore in 2019. After the BJP won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with a mammoth tally of 303 seats, Om Birla was elected the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
In the third tenure of the Narendra Modi-led government of the centre, all eyes are on the choice of the Prime Minister on the next Lok Sabha speaker. The BJP will make the choice of the Lok Sabha speaker, keeping in mind the changed strength of the lower House of parliament.
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The opposition is strong in the Lok Sabha now. The BJP has reduced strength in the Lok Sabha. Running the affairs of the Lok Sabha will not be that easy, as had been the case with the chair in the last 10 years.
Previously, if we take examples, then during the time of UPA, Shivraj Patil had been the Lok Sabha speaker earlier but became the Home Minister. So, if that example is taken, then Om Birla has not been made a minister in the Modi government.
So, definitely the outgoing Lok Sabha speaker was not a choice for Modi in the Council of Ministers. Thus, Birla an ex-Lok Sabha speaker will wait for the BJP to assign him a new role.
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Will he become the Lok Sabha Speaker once more?
He had run the affairs of the Lok Sabha very assertively. Several of the opposition MPs were thrown out of the House after they were suspended.
So, with that, Om Birla has experience to count. At the same time, Om Birla has also broken the jinx.
Previously, the Lok Sabha speakers happened to lose elections. In the case of Meira Kumar, who was the Lok Sabha speaker during the second tenure of the UPA government, she lost the elections from Sasaram seat in Bihar in 2014.
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Afterwards, Sumitra Mahajan was not given the Lok Sabha ticket to contest from Indore seat.
That way, Om Birla has broken the jinx and it has to be seen whether he becomes a lucky person to hold the post once more, unless the BJP has some more or alternative arrangements for him.
Om Birla’s conduct in the chair will also be under review by Prime Minister Narendra, claim officials from the Lok Sabha.
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