Opposition MPs congratulate Speaker Om Birla, urge him to run House without bias; promise cooperation
Om Birla on his election as Lok Sabha Speaker and exhorted him to run the House fairly, without bias.
Leading the Opposition benches was Rahul Gandhi, who was appointed Leader of Opposition on Tuesday, a post that remained vacant for a decade. «The idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea and this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution, the Samvidhan of this country,» said Gandhi as he cautioned against the stifling of the voice of Opposition.
«The question is not how efficiently the House is run, the question is how much of India's voice is being allowed to be heard in this House,» Gandhi said, adding that by allowing the Opposition to speak, the Speaker would be doing his duty of defending the Constitution of India. Gandhi assured the Speaker of his support in running the House. «We, the Opposition, would like to assist you in doing your work. We would like the House to function often and well,» he said.
SP MP Akhilesh Yadav gave a forceful, but veiled message, peppered with his trademark wit. As he congratulated Birla on his election, he said suspension of MPs hurt the dignity of the House. «We expect that no public representative's voice will be stifled, nor will action like expulsion take place again. Your control is on the Opposition, but it should be on the ruling side too.»
«The House should function on your signals and not the other way round. We stand with all your just decisions…
