NDA nominee Om Birla was on Wednesday elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Opposition assured him of their wholehearted support in the smooth conduct of proceedings in the House and he himself resolved to be even-handed in his treatment to all the parties irrespective of their numerical strength.

Elected unanimously, Birla received fulsome praise from the Prime Minister who mentioned his social work in Kota, humanitarian initiatives in 2011 Gujarat earthquake and 2013 floods in Uttarakhand. Modi expressed confidence that the new Speaker with his gentle smile would conduct the House in a just manner and be tough even with the Treasury Benches.

Birla was declared elected by pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar.

The two-time MP from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha constituency, Birla, a surprise pick by the PM, was led to the presiding officer’s chair by Modi.

Several leaders from BJP, Congress, DMK, TMC went up the podium to greet the new Speaker.

“Kota has become kind of a small country and the transformation of Kota has taken place under your leadership,” Modi said.

As the Prime Minister gave a new insight into the life of the new Speaker and lauded his work, he looked around on with a benign smile.

A total of 13 motions were moved in support of Birla. Since the motion moved by Modi, also the Leader of the House, was adopted, the other motions became infructuous.

“I on behalf of the Government and the Treasury Benches assure you full support in conducting the House. I also assure you that your order will prevail and you must be tough even if anyone from our side (Treasury Benches) crosses the limit,” Modi said, congratulating Birla.

Birla assured the members that he will run the House in an impartial manner and everyone will be heard. “I have been a member like you from 2014 to 2019. And here we should raise issues which matter to the last person standing in the row,” he said.

The 57-year-old, considered to be close to both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, succeeds eight-term MP Sumitra Mahajan as the Speaker, a post traditionally held by senior MPs.

The newly elected Congress’ leader of the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK’s TR Baalu and TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among those who backed Birla and urged him to be impartial as presiding officer of the Lower House.

Extending his whole-hearted support to Birla, Chowdhury urged him to be impartial and give the Opposition enough time to raise issues of public interest. He said the presiding officer is the custodian of the House, which according to Jawaharlal Nehru, represents the nation and freedom of the country.

Chowdhury also expressed concern over very few Bills being referred to standing committees by the Lok Sabha and hoped for a reversal of the trend.

The Congress leader said the house has witnessed in the last two days various religious slogans like “Jai Sri Ram” and “Allahu Akbar” in the House adding the social fabric of the country will be strengthened only when people respect all religious faiths.

Pinaki Mishra of the BJD expressed similar concerns and said Birla’s unopposed election shows his acceptability. There was no candidate in the fray other than Birla and the motion moved by the Prime Minister to choose the Kota-Bundi MP as the Speaker was adopted by a voice vote.

NK Premchandran of the RSP urged the Speaker to protect the democratic rights of members asserting that active Opposition is good for healthy democracy. He said he raised 500 amendments to different Bills during the 16th Lok Sabha but none of them was accepted by the Government.

SAD’s Sukhbir Singh Badal and Apna Dal’s leader Anupriya Patel suggested the regional and smaller parties should be given adequate time during discussions.

Similar sentiments were expressed by LJP’s Chirag Paswan, TRS’ N Nageshwar Rao while BSP’s Shyam Singh Yadav said first-time MPs should also get sufficient time in discussions.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said the Speaker should ensure protection of separation of powers and the elected Government should not become a monarch.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress cautioned Birla that “brute majoritarianism” sometimes affects the functioning of the House.