Opposition leaders on Wednesday congratulated Om Birla on becoming Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha for the second time, urging the Speaker to remain impartial and reminding him that lawmakers had been suspended during his previous term.
“The Opposition wants to help you do your job. We want Parliament to function well. It is very important that we work together based on trust. It is important that the voice of the Opposition is represented. We are confident that you will represent our voice and allow us to speak for the voice of the people of India,” Leader of the Opposition and Indian National Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said.
“The issue is not how efficiently Parliament is running, but how well the voice of India is being heard in Parliament. So the idea that Parliament can be run efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is an undemocratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to uphold the Constitution of the country. And by allowing the Opposition to speak on behalf of the people of India, I am confident that they will fulfill their duty to uphold the Constitution of India,” he added.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, speaking after Rahul, was more forthright. Saying that there would be no discrimination and that he hoped the Speaker would give an equal opportunity to Opposition MPs, Akhilesh said: “I hope that actions like the suspension of MPs will not stifle the voice of the people’s representatives and the dignity of Parliament will not be tarnished…Impartiality is a great responsibility of this position…”
“The House should function as per your instructions and not the other way around,” he said.
Expressing hope that the appointment of Leader of Opposition will ensure proper running of Parliament, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, “Sir, we firmly believe in the parliamentary democratic system. It rests on secularism, communal harmony and national unity…Sir, Parliament belongs to the Opposition. This stance needs to be adopted by the ruling party itself…Sir, you may have good wishes and intentions but sometimes you succumb to the ruling party’s pressure…Sir, 150 MPs have been suspended in a single day. This is not desirable.”
DMK’s TR Bahl said Birla was elected as a BJP MP but now that he is the Speaker, “there should be no politics between him and the Speaker’s post.” “All parties, opposition and ruling, need to be treated equally… be fair, just and just,” Bahl said.
Recalling the passage of the Bill on appointment of Election Commissioners in the last Lok Sabha amid the ongoing suspension of Opposition MPs, Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Arvind Sawant said, “Parliament should be run as it should provide justice to the people…I hope that you will all bless us every time we stand up to protect the Constitution.”
NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule thanked Birla for supporting MPs during the pandemic. “In the last five years… one very sad thing has happened. We felt very sad when 150 of our friends were suspended. We will try not to consider suspension for the next five years. Dialogue is possible,” she said. IUML MP Mohammed Bashir said fairness should be the “mantra” of the Congress. “We have had bitter experiences in the past. This should not be repeated,” he said.
© Indian Express Ltd.
First uploaded: 27 Jun 2024 02:29 IST
