BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla has been elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi a while ago had moved motion to choose Om Birla as Lok Sabha speaker.

“It is a matter of great pride for the House and we all congratulate Om Birla Ji on being unanimously elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Many MPs know Birla Ji well. He has served in the state of Rajasthan as well,” PM Modi said.

“Personally, I remember working with Om Birla Ji for a long time. He represents Kota, a place that is mini-India, land associated with education & learning. He has been in public life for years. He began as a student leader & has been serving society since then without a break,” the Prime Minister added.

Om Birla had the backing of all the NDA partners, apart from other parties such as the Biju Janata Dal and YSR Congress Party.

He is known for setting up a clothes bank and a blanket bank to help the poor and underprivileged, especially in the winter. He is considered a loyalist of PM Modi and Amit Shah. The decision to project him is also seen as the creation of a new power centre in the Hadauti region – which includes Kota and Dhaulapur – to counter Vasundhara Raje.

After his name was proposed for the speaker post in the 17th Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Om Birla met outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in Delhi.
Om Birla is a two-time BJP MP from Rajasthan’s Kota Lok Sabha constituency. He was earlier elected to the State Assembly thrice from Kota South. He was the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s State unit president for several years in the 1990s.

Earlier on Tuesday responding to reports of his name being nominated for the 17th Lok Sabha speaker had appeared, Birla refused to comment saying, “I have no information, I had just went to meet the Working President as a ‘karyakarta’.”

  17 Lok Sabha, BJP MP Om Birla, Kota, Lok Sabha Speaker, Parliament, PM modi, Rajasthan, Speaker