Om Birla's re-election bonhomie short-lived as chaos returned

Smiles and handshakes between rivals followed the re-election of Om Birla as Lok Sabha Speaker today. The rare moment of bonhomie was, however, short-lived and chaos returned after the newly-elected Speaker mentioned the "dark days of Emergency" and called for a 2-minute silence.

Soon after Mr Birla, a three-time MP, was re-elected by voice vote, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi walked up and congratulated him. Mr Gandhi also shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Then, the two leaders, along with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, escorted Mr Birla to the Speaker's chair.

Congratulating Birla, the Prime Minister said his "sweet smile keeps the entire House happy". "It is a matter of honour that you have been elected to this chair for the second time," the Prime Minister said. Opposition leaders also congratulated the Speaker, but added a sharp message that the Opposition must be allowed to speak, as they too represent the voice of the people.

Addressing the House, Mr Birla said all members must work together for the nation. Appealing to the members to ensure decorum in the House, he said there must remain a difference between protest in the sansad (House) and protest on sadak (street). Thereafter, he asked the members to rise for two minutes' silence to mark the 50th anniversary of the "dark days of Emergency". This sparked an uproar from the Opposition benches and the House was adjourned.

On the Speaker's Emergency remark, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it is "unfortunate" that the Speaker ended up undermining the spirit of consensus by a "divisive" statement. "This was not necessary. It was 49 years ago. If you have to go to such lengths on a day on which the message was to be one of cooperation and consensus, that's unfortunate," he said.

This was only the third election for the Lok Sabha Speaker after Independence. The voting took place after the Congress forced a contest and fielded its eight-time MP K Suresh as a challenger. The numbers, however, were clearly on Mr Birla's side. While the NDA candidate had the support of 297 MPs, the Opposition pick had 232.