Om Birla elected Lok Sabha Speaker with voice vote; ‘allow us to speak,’ says Opposition

Later, however, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee said there should have been a division, as sought by some members, to ascertain the number of votes for and against Birla.

Following his election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi escorted Birla to the Speaker’s chair.

Congratulating Birla, Modi, who moved the motion for his election as Speaker, lauded him for maintaining the decorum of the House during his previous term. Gandhi, in his speech, underlined that the “voice of the Opposition” should be “allowed to be represented in the House”.

“I want to congratulate you on behalf of the House. It is a huge responsibility for you to sit on this post for the second time during Amrit Kaal. With your experience, we hope that you will guide us for the next five years. Aapke chehre par ye meethi meethi muskaan poore sadan ko prasann rakhti hai (This sweet smile on your face makes the whole House happy),” Modi said.

“Under your guidance, the productivity of the 17th Lok Sabha was the highest in 25 years at 97 per cent. For this, not just the honourable members but you also deserve special appreciation,” Modi said, as he listed key legislation passed by the previous House. “In your chairmanship, the House achieved what could not be done in 70 years… I am confident the country will be proud of the achievements of the 17th Lok Sabha now and in the future,” he said.

Modi said that in order to enforce the rules and decorum of the House, Birla acted with great restraint but had to take difficult decisions sometimes. “But between the dignity of the House and personal pain, you always chose dignity of the House,” he said, in what seemed to be a reference to suspensions of about 100 members in a week in December 2023.

Recalling that Parliament shifted to the new building during Birla’s previous term, he said the new Parliament would write the future of ‘Amrit Kaal’ in India. He said it was during Birla’s tenure that the system of briefing MPs began, and they were given reference material.

Speaking after the PM, Gandhi congratulated Birla and said he was confident that the Speaker would allow the Opposition to represent their voice, and the voice of the people of India. “I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the entire Opposition and INDIA bloc. Speaker Sir, this House represents the voice of India’s people. And you are the final arbiter of that voice,” he said.

“Of course, the government has political power, but the Opposition also represents the voice of the people… And this time, the Opposition represents significantly more voices of the Indian people than it did last time,” he said.

“The Opposition would like to assist you in doing your work. We would like the House to function often and well. It is very important that cooperation happens on the basis of trust. It is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House. I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak to represent the voice of the people of India,” said Gandhi.

“The question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice is being allowed to be heard in this House. So the idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution of the country. We are confident that by allowing the Opposition to speak to represent the people of India, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution of India,” he said.

As he assumed charge, Birla read out a resolution condemning the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 and asked members to observe a moment’s silence, triggering protests by the Opposition, after which the House was adjourned for the day.