Om Birla is Speaker after voice vote amid govt, Oppn jousting

The National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) numbers ensured the election of Om Birla as the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, but Opposition leaders made a strong point by repeatedly mentioning their increased strength in the House and exhorting the speaker to be neutral and impartial, and Birla himself ended proceedings by reading out a resolution on the Emergency, much to the discomfiture of the Congress — all glimpses of what could follow in a House where the Bharatiya Janata Party’s numbers are significantly diminished.

There was also some initial confusion over the voting, with the Congress not pressing for a division of votes but ally Trinamool Congress suggesting that the pro-tem speaker had ignored demands for one, suggesting that there needs to be better coordination between members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

The Opposition fielded Kodikunnil Suresh as its candidate against Birla, but there was really no chance of him winning – all parties, including the BJP issued three-line whips ahead of the election – and Birla was elected after a voice vote. Speaking soon after, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the increased efficiency of the House under Birla’s leadership between 2019 and 2024.

“This Parliament building is not just four walls. In your five years, the productivity of this House was 97%, which is the highest in 25 years. During Covid, you didn’t allow the work of Parliament to stop. Your decisions helped us to work during that difficult period. And the Lok Sabha had a 170% productivity in the Covid years.”

On his first day as Leader of the Opposition, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, however, reminded the House that its effectiveness needs to be measured by the space it allowed to Opposition voices. “I am confident that you will allow us to speak; the question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice can be heard. The idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the Opposition is a non-democratic idea,” Gandhi said.

And Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader TR Baalu asked Birla to ensure the Opposition gets to be heard in the House. “Actions like the suspension of MPs would not be taken as they hurt the dignity of the House…The House should function on your directions and not otherwise,” Yadav said.

With 236 members in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition bloc’s strength is greatly enhanced – especially if one were to add some of the unaligned parties – but the NDA, with 292 members (excluding Birla) has a clear majority.

It remains to be seen whether it can effectively use this majority to push through bills, especially because it remains in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, and the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress Party which previously supported, it are unlikely to do so this time (the BJD has said as much).

But as Wednesday’s proceedings showed, confrontation is likely to be the prevailing theme. The NDA’s response to the Opposition’s comments following the Speaker’s election was the resolution on Emergency (49-years-old yesterday) read out by Birla.

“This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. We appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting India’s democracy,” he said amid vociferous protests by opposition parties.

Birla — only the fourth man to win a speaker’s election and the first this millennium — himself was sharp, cutting short some members, reminding others that lawmakers must sit down when the speaker was standing, and invoking the Emergency in his address. Leaders cutting across political lines vowed to help him run the House smoothly but also reminded him about the Opposition’s due space.

“Honourable members, the 18th Lok Sabha should be the assembly of our new vision, new resolve. The 18th Lok Sabha should be the assembly of our creative platform and new ideas, in which the high level parliamentary tradition is established, there is a limited expression of agreement and disagreement between the ruling and the opposition parties. There should be meaningful discussions and dialogues on the burning issues before the country and this assembly should work with the will to fulfil the vision of a developed India,” Birla said.

The unprecedented election – the first in nearly half a century – was conducted after talks between the government and Opposition broke down on Tuesday over the deputy speaker’s post. The ruling NDA picked Birla to take on senior Congress MP Suresh, who filed his nomination just minutes before the 12 pm deadline.

A battery of top leaders led by PM Modi, moved a total of 16 motions —13 in favour of Birla — and the remaining three for Suresh. Pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab conducted a voice vote for the motion moved by the PM and declared it adopted by voice vote.

“Since the first motion moved by Narendra Modi has been adopted, other motions are infructuous,” Mahtab said.

When Union minister Lalan Singh enquired about the division (voting by ballots), parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the Opposition didn’t push for it. Mahtab, who had declared that Birla won the election, replied, “We have passed that stage.”

In a long-lasting tradition of parliamentary practices, Modi, LoP Rahul Gandhi and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju accompanied Birla to the speaker’s seat where Mahtab was waiting for him.

“It’s your chair, you handle it,” Mahtab quipped as Birla took charge.

TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee said the pro-tem speaker did not allow division even though several opposition MPs sought it. “This is a clear testament to the fact that the ruling dispensation, the BJP, does not have the numbers ... This government is running without the numbers,” he added.

The Congress later said it didn’t press for a division of votes out of a sense of cooperation. “INDIA parties exercised their democratic right and moved motions in support of Kodikunnil Suresh as Lok Sabha Speaker. Voice vote was taken. Thereafter, INDIA parties could have insisted on division,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on X.

“They did not do so. This is because they wanted a spirit of consensus and cooperation to prevail, a spirit singularly lacking in the actions of the PM and the NDA,” he added.

Modi lauded Birla’s first tenure and expressed confidence that he will continue to create new benchmarks. The PM pointed out that, “In this important phase of Amrit Kaal, this is the second time you have been elected. This is a major responsibility.”

He expressed confidence that Birla will set more records. “In the past 20 years, most of the Speakers didn’t contest or didn’t win. One can understand how difficult the speaker’s work is! You won and created a new history. Most of the MPs know you and know your life. As an MP, the way you work is a lesson for all of us. In the last five years, we have worked with you and you know us.”

But the Opposition hit back. Gandhi mentioned the Opposition’s increased strength in the 18th Lok Sabha.

“The Opposition would like to assist you in doing your work. We want 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 said.

Yadav, who is the Samajwadi Party floor leader for the first time, also quipped that he was under the impression that the speaker’s chair was very high and reminded everyone that the House he had left – the Uttar Pradesh assembly – the Chair was very high.

Birla said he would try to give all members “enough time and opportunity”. “This Parliament is a House where views of all parties are considered. Views of all parties should be expressed here. Agreement and disagreement is the strength of our democracy...I hope that you will express your disagreement loudly on the issues and ideology of your respective parties,” he said.

“My expectation will be that I run the House with everyone’s consent. Even if a person is from one party, he will get enough time, enough opportunity, because the people of the country have elected him. In my last tenure, I tried to give all the honourable members an opportunity to speak in the first session...but my expectation will be that the House runs in a peaceful manner.”

Opposition leaders earlier argued that in the 17th Lok Sabha— presided by Birla— 35% of the laws were passed with less than an hour of discussion in the Lower House and only 16% of the bills were referred to House panels for review. According to PRS Legislative Research, this was lower than corresponding figures for the previous three Lok Sabhas.

TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the functioning of the House always depended on the attitude of the treasury benches and the House belonged to the Opposition. He mentioned the suspension of opposition MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha and said it was “not desirable”.

Baalu said that now that Birla was the speaker, he did not belong to any party anymore.

“You might have been elected by my BJP friends (but) hereafter there is no politics between you and the powers. You don’t have any colour also. You have to treat the opposition and the ruling party in the same manner. Kindly be impartial,” he said.