Om Birla elected as Speaker of Lok Sabha

Prime Minister Narendra Modi went up to the Speaker's chair and congratulated him

NDA candidate Om Birla has been unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed Birla's name and was supported by all major Opposition parties, including Congress, TMC, DMK, and BJD.

The YSRCP and TDP also supported Birla's candidature.

Soon after Birla's appointment, Prime Minister Modi went up to the Speaker's chair and congratulated him.

Also read: Lesser known facts about new Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "It is a matter of great pride for the House and we all congratulate Om Birla on being unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Many MPs know Birla well. He has served in the state of Rajasthan also."

BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. pic.twitter.com/Cuwe3zbRSA

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2019

There was no other candidate in the fray and the motion moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to choose the Kota-Bundi MP as speaker was adopted by a voice vote. Birla also broke the record of women holding the position for the last 10 years. 

Birla is an agriculturist and social worker, the typical low-profile leader who has been active in politics from his student days and has also served as state unit president of the Bhartiya Yuva Morcha in 1991 and as vice-president at the national level.

Birla was elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Kota where he defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes. He was elected to the last Lok Sabha from the same seat.

Born on 23 November 1962, Om Birla completed his Masters in Commerce from Government Commerce College, Kota and the Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer.

In 2003, he defeated Shanti Dhariwal, of the Congress by a margin of 10,101 votes, to win his first assembly election from Kota South. Subsequently, he won the Assembly polls in 2008 and 2013.

Birla was the Parliamentary Secretary (MoS rank) in the Vasundhara Raje government from 2003 to 2008. In the last Lok Sabha, Birla was a member of the Standing Committee on Energy in Parliament and member of Committee on Petitions and Consultative Committee for Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Leaders from the BJP, the Congress, the DMK and the TMC went up the podium to greet the 56-year-old new speaker of the Lower House.

Though the Congress and the DMK had moved notices for supporting Birla as the speaker well past the 12 noon Tuesday deadline, the pro-tem Speaker allowed it to be included as a "special case". 

Also read: Om Birla is NDA's nominee for Lok Sabha speaker's position

Birla has also been in charge of the organisational revamp of the party in 2018 when the then Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was drawing flak from the public.

He has also initiated several social welfare programs, including launching in 2012 Paridhan, an initiative which engages in distributing clothes and books for the poor and opened several blood donation camps.

Top five news stories of the day

The Dutch mystery: Did missing man's wife get him to sign restraining affidavit?
Sharmila Shinde had sensed her husband Avdhut would kill her in a foreign land, which made her so scared to shift to the Netherlands that she made him sign an affidavit solemnly declaring he won't harm or kill her, her friends and neighbours told mid-day. Meanwhile, mid-day has also obtained a call recording where Avdhut can be heard reassuring Sharmila he won’t murder her. (Read full story)

Zee TV producer died of drowning in Aarey pond, reveals primary report
The primary report on the cause of death of the senior producer at Zee TV, Sohan Chauhan on Sunday, has revealed drowning. His last rites were performed on Monday in the presence of his wife, brother and other relatives. The family has made no complaint, the police said. During the investigation, the cops from Aarey police station checked CCTV footage in which he was seen coming out of the lift around 3.45am on Sunday. He had a bottle of Thums Up in one hand. Instead of using the main gate to exit, he was seen going out from the back gate towards the pond in which he was found drowned. (Read full story)

Mumbai Crime: Rape case filed against CPI (M) leader's son at Oshiwara
The Oshiwara police have registered a case of rape and cheating against Binoy Kodiyeri, the son of CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The party is currently in power in Kerala. The accused has denied all allegations in a press statement in Kerala. (Read full story)

Mumbai: RPF plans to sweep LTT clean of errant auto, taxi drivers
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has come up with a master plan to put an end to errant auto and taxi drivers fleecing commuters at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT). The officers have written to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) seeking their help in executing the plan, which would be implemented on a war-footing. (Read full story)

Mumbai: BMC might use 'readymade' bridges to solve traffic crisis
To solve the traffic chaos following the closure of many bridges in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is thinking of using pre-fabricated bridges. These can be installed within three months at the required spot. However, their cost and technicalities are yet to be explored by the BMC. (Read full story)

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!