New Delhi: Debuting as the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated Om Birla for being elected as the Speaker for the second time and hoped that under his supervision the voice of the Opposition will not be “silenced” during House proceedings.
He said, “Speaker Sir, this House represents the voice of India’s people and you, Speaker Sir, are the final arbiter of that voice. Of course, the government has political power, but the Opposition also represents the voice of India’s people and this time, the Opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people than it did last time”.
Assuring the Speaker that the Opposition would like to assist him in doing his work, Gandhi said, “We would like the House to function often and well. Speaker Sir, it is very important that co-operation happens on the basis of trust”.
He said that it was very important that the voice of the Opposition is not suppressed and it is allowed represent people’s voice in the House. "I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak, allow us to represent the voice of the people of India".
He said, “Speaker Sir, 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. Speaker Sir, so 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, and we are confident that by allowing the Opposition to speak, by allowing us to represent the people of India, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution of India”.
NDA nominee Om Birla was elected as the 18th Lok Sabha Speaker, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved the motion for his election. He became Speaker for the second successive five-year term after winning the contest against INDIA bloc's K Suresh through voice vote.