Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP OM Birla was elected as the speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha on Wednesday, June 19. His name was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was backed by all major parties including Biju Janata Dal, Shiv Sena, YSRCP and AIADMK.
PM Modi also congratulated Birla after his election, saying that he and Birla have worked together as BJP workers, and Birla has been serving the public without a break for years.
"It is a matter of great pride for the House and we all congratulate Om Birla Ji on being unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Many MPs know Birla Ji well. He has served in the state of Rajasthan as well," Modi said.
Birla, a two-time BJP MP from the Kota-Bundi constituency in Lok Sabha, defeated Congress's Ramnarayan Meena with a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election.
Other prominent names of senior BJP parliamentarians like Maneka Gandhi, Radha Mohan Singh and Virender Kumar were also in contention for the post of Lok Sabha speaker. But Birla, who has been associated with the BJP since his youth, working as a representative in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had a total of 13 motions moved in his support, and was unanimously elected as the speaker.
