NEW DELHI, June 19: NDA nominee Om Birla was today unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha with Prime Mi-nister Nar-endra Modi and the Opposition assuring him of their whole-hearted support in the smooth conduct of proceedings in the House.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, DMK’s T R Baalu and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among those who backed Birla and urged him to be impartial as presiding officer of the Lower House.
“I on behalf of the Government and the treasury benches assure you full support in conducting the House. I also assure you that your order will prevail and you must be tough even if anyone from our side (treasury benches) crosses the limit,” Modi said, congratulating Birla.
The Prime Minister heaped praise on the two-time BJP MP for his long public life, going back to his student days, and recalled his social work in Kota, Rajasthan, and in other parts of the country, including during the 2011 earthquake in Gujarat and the 2013 floods in Uttarakhand.
Birla assured the members that he will run the House in an impartial manner and everyone will be heard.
“I have been a member like you from 2014 to 2019. And here we should raise issues which matter to the last person standing in the row,” he said.
The 56-year-old, considered to be close to both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, succeeds eight-term MP Sumitra Mahajan as the Speaker, a post traditionally held by senior MPs. (PTI)
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