Senior BJD MlA Pradeep Kumar Amat was elected unopposed as Speaker of the Odisha legislative Assembly through a motion passed at a special sitting of the House held on Tuesday afternoon.
Amat assumed the Speaker’s seat soon after Deputy Speaker Sananda Marandi announced his name following the motion passed by a voice vote.
As soon as the House met at 3 pm, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik brought the motion seeking support of all Members of the House to his proposal for Amat as the new Speaker. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh seconded the proposal. Marandi called for a voice vote and the motion was adopted.
The Chief Minister, leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and BJP legislature Party leader KV Singh Deo congratulated Amat in their brief speeches.
Mishra, however, expressed unhappiness that the ruling party didn’t consult with the Opposition while naming Amat for the seat of the highest dignity.