Om Birla has been elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha in an election which took place for the first time after two decades. The election was necessitated after the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA and the opposition's INDIA bloc failed to reach a consensus over the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker in the House.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved the moved the motion in favour of Om Birla, backed by Union minister Rajnath Singh.
On Tuesday, Union minister Rajnath Singh reached out to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in a bid to build the consensus but the talks yielded no result.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Singh spoke to Kharge on the matter during which the Congress president said that the INDIA bloc would support BJP's pick for the post of Speaker if the Deputy Speaker post is given to the opposition which was not agreed by the saffron camp.
A brief interaction involving Congress leader KC Venugopal and DMK's TR Baalu from the opposition side and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and J P Nadda, at Singh's office in Parliament to evolve a consensus evolved in acrimony as both the sides remained firm on their positions.
Venugopal accused the government of not following the "convention" of an opposition candidate for the Deputy Speaker's post and announced the decision to field K Suresh against Birla.
On the flip side, Union ministers Piyush Goyal of the BJP and Lalan Singh of the Janata Dal (United) accused the opposition of resorting to pressure politics and putting preconditions despite assurance by senior ministers that its demand will be considered when the time would come to pick Deputy Speaker.
PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi Congratulate
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi escorted Om Birla to the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair and congratulated Birla on being re-elected.
"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 the Amrit Kaal. With your experience, we hope that you will guide us for the next 5 years.
Modi also complimented Birla for his "sweet smile" adding that it "keeps the entire House happy."
"Becoming the Speaker for the second time is a record in itself. Balram Jakhar got the opportunity to serve as the Speaker for the second term after competing 5 years and today you are doing the same...," he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also congratulated Birla on behalf of entire Opposition.
"This House represents the voice of India's people and you are the final arbiter of that voice. The government has political power but the opposition also represents the voice of India's people and this time, the opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people than it did last time," Rahul 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," he added.