NEW DELHI, June 8 – Veteran tribal MP from Jharkhand Karia Munda was today unanimously elected as the new Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying it was a reflection of the “growing empowerment” of the downtrodden sections of society, reports PTI. 72-year-old seven-time MP Munda was elected by a voice vote after motions to elect him were moved by Leader of Opposition L K Advani, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, NCP’s Sharad Pawar and others.
The Prime Minister said soon after Meira Kumar’s election as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Munda has been elected as Deputy Speaker, which “augurs well for the country”.
Observing that both Kumar and Munda belonged to the “disadvantaged” sections, Singh said the move reaffirmed the commitment towards empowerment of the downtrodden.
Mukherjee said since 1977, the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha has been offered to the Opposition, while ruling alliance decides its nominee for the post of Speaker.
Leader of the Opposition L K Advani moved the first motion proposing Munda’s name for the post of Deputy Speaker. It was seconded by Rajnath Singh.
After his unanimous election, the Prime Minister, Leader of the House Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition Advani walked up to the opposition benches where Munda was sitting, wished him and escorted him to the front row seat meant for the Deputy Speaker.
The Prime Minister said Munda had a “wealth of experience”, being elected to the House seven times and also being a member in the Union Cabinet. He said the new Deputy Speaker was a “multi-faceted personality” who had worked for empowerment of women and also written a book on Rabindranath Tagore.
Describing Munda as “a parliamentarian, administrator and social reformer”, Mukherjee said his election to the post would “not only lighten your (Speaker’s) burden but also guide us in orderly conduct of the House.”
He said it was a “healthy practice” since 1977 that the Speaker would be nominated by the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker by the Opposition. This was still being continued, Mukherjee said.
BJP leader Advani recalled that he himself and Munda had worked as Ministers with Kumar’s father Jagjivan Ram in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
He said the unanimous election of Kumar and Munda as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, as well as the 2009 parliamentary polls, had shown that Indian democracy had matured.
“Whoever may have won or lost, but Indian democracy has won”, Advani said adding that both the ruling and opposition parties had cooperated to make the elections to the two top parliamentary positions unanimous.
Congratulating her Deputy, Speaker Meira Kumar said her own election and Munda’s were “a testimony to the maturity of the people and parliamentary system. It shows that India is the largest working democracy in the world inspite of various problems”.
She appealed to all parties to strive for unanimity in all issues, as was reflected in the two elections as it was their duty to come up to the expectations of the people who had elected them.
Assam Tribune
The Prime Minister said soon after Meira Kumar’s election as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Munda has been elected as Deputy Speaker, which “augurs well for the country”.
Observing that both Kumar and Munda belonged to the “disadvantaged” sections, Singh said the move reaffirmed the commitment towards empowerment of the downtrodden.
Mukherjee said since 1977, the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha has been offered to the Opposition, while ruling alliance decides its nominee for the post of Speaker.
Leader of the Opposition L K Advani moved the first motion proposing Munda’s name for the post of Deputy Speaker. It was seconded by Rajnath Singh.
After his unanimous election, the Prime Minister, Leader of the House Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition Advani walked up to the opposition benches where Munda was sitting, wished him and escorted him to the front row seat meant for the Deputy Speaker.
The Prime Minister said Munda had a “wealth of experience”, being elected to the House seven times and also being a member in the Union Cabinet. He said the new Deputy Speaker was a “multi-faceted personality” who had worked for empowerment of women and also written a book on Rabindranath Tagore.
Describing Munda as “a parliamentarian, administrator and social reformer”, Mukherjee said his election to the post would “not only lighten your (Speaker’s) burden but also guide us in orderly conduct of the House.”
He said it was a “healthy practice” since 1977 that the Speaker would be nominated by the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker by the Opposition. This was still being continued, Mukherjee said.
BJP leader Advani recalled that he himself and Munda had worked as Ministers with Kumar’s father Jagjivan Ram in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
He said the unanimous election of Kumar and Munda as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, as well as the 2009 parliamentary polls, had shown that Indian democracy had matured.
“Whoever may have won or lost, but Indian democracy has won”, Advani said adding that both the ruling and opposition parties had cooperated to make the elections to the two top parliamentary positions unanimous.
Congratulating her Deputy, Speaker Meira Kumar said her own election and Munda’s were “a testimony to the maturity of the people and parliamentary system. It shows that India is the largest working democracy in the world inspite of various problems”.
She appealed to all parties to strive for unanimity in all issues, as was reflected in the two elections as it was their duty to come up to the expectations of the people who had elected them.
Assam Tribune
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