Third term MP Om Birla in fray for Speaker again

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) Om Birla will be the first Speaker in over two decades to get a second term if he makes it to the post.

Birla, a third term MP from Kota in Rajasthan, was a surprise candidate when the NDA announced his name for the post in 2019.

A lesser known name of the BJP before 2019, Birla has earlier been an MLA in Rajasthan Assembly thrice and served at various posts in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).   From 1991 to 2003, he was a key leader in the BJYM, first as a state level president, and then as a national vice president.  He was elected as a BJP candidate from Kota to the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha.  In his first term as an MP, Birla had a good track record, with around 86 per cent attendance, 671 questions, and participation in 163 debates.    He won again in 2019 and was made the Speaker, surprising many, including those in the treasury.  In 2024, Birla defeated a Congress candidate, his nearest rival from the Kota seat, by a margin of over 41,000 votes, becoming the first Speaker in 20 years to return to the House.  Birla also became the first Speaker ever to serve a full term without the appointment of a deputy speaker.  While the Lok Sabha had functioned over 97 per cent of its scheduled time according the government, it was also the one with lowest number of sittings among Lok Sabhas that finished a full term.  The 17th Lok Sabha had 272 sittings altogether over its five year tenure from 2019 to 2024.  Birla's tenure saw the construction of a new Parliament building as well as few landmark legislations, such as the passing of three criminal laws, abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a resolution on the consecration of the Ram temple.    Amid opposition allegations of being biased towards the treasury bench, Birla always maintained he went by the rulebook.

He took stringent decisions like expelling MP Mahua Moitra, and suspending 100 MPs in Lok Sabha in the same session that saw a major security breach.   Lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the last sitting of the 17th Lok Sabha for always having a smile on his face, Birla was also credited by him for running the house impartially and with patience. PTI AO AO VN VN