Karia Munda new Deputy Speaker of India`s Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Jun 8 (PTI) Veteran tribal Member of
Parliament (MP) from India's eastern state of Jharkhand, Karia
Munda was Monday unanimously elected as the new Deputy
Speaker of Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament), with
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying it was a reflection of
the "growing empowerment" of the downtrodden sections of
society.

72-year-old seven-time MP Munda was elected by a voice
vote after motions to elect him were moved by Leader of
Opposition L K Advani, Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee,
JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, NCP's Sharad Pawar and others.

The Prime Minister said soon after Meira Kumar's election
as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Munda has been elected as Deputy
Speaker, which "augurs well for the country".

Observing that both Kumar and Munda belonged to the
"disadvantaged" sections, Singh said the move reaffirmed the
commitment towards empowerment of the downtrodden.

Mukherjee said since 1977, the post of Deputy Speaker in
the Lok Sabha has been offered to the Opposition, while ruling
alliance decides its nominee for the post of Speaker.

Leader of the Opposition L K Advani moved the first
motion proposing Munda's name for the post of Deputy Speaker.
It was seconded by Rajnath Singh.

After his unanimous election, the Prime Minister, Leader
of the House Mukherjee and Leader of Opposition Advani walked
up to the opposition benches where Munda was sitting, wished
him and escorted him to the front row seat meant for the
Deputy Speaker.

The Prime Minister said Munda had a "wealth of
experience", being elected to the House seven times and also
being a member in the Union Cabinet. He said the new Deputy
Speaker was a "multi-faceted personality" who had worked for
empowerment of women and also written a book on Rabindranath
Tagore.

Describing Munda as "a parliamentarian, administrator and
social reformer", Mukherjee said his election to the post
would "not only lighten your (Speaker's) burden but also guide
us in orderly conduct of the House."

He said it was a "healthy practice" since 1977 that the
Speaker would be nominated by the ruling party and the Deputy
Speaker by the Opposition. This was still being continued,
Mukherjee said.

BJP leader Advani recalled that he himself and Munda had
worked as Ministers with Kumar's father Jagjivan Ram in the
cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

He said the unanimous election of Kumar and Munda as the
Speaker and Deputy Speaker, as well as the 2009 parliamentary
polls, had shown that Indian democracy had matured.

"Whoever may have won or lost, but Indian democracy has
won", Advani said adding that both the ruling and opposition
parties had cooperated to make the elections to the two top
parliamentary positions unanimous.

Congratulating her Deputy, Speaker Meira Kumar said her
own election and Munda's were "a testimony to the maturity of
the people and parliamentary system. It shows that India is
the largest working democracy in the world inspite of various
problems".

She appealed to all parties to strive for unanimity in
all issues, as was reflected in the two elections as it was
their duty to come up to the expectations of the people who
had elected them.

SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav,
Arjun Sethi (BJD) and Basudeb Acharia (CPI-M) congratulated
Munda on his election and assured their parties' full
cooperation in smooth running of the House proceedings.

Mulayam said the practice of having the Speaker and
Deputy Speaker from the ruling and opposition parties was
introduced by him in Uttar Pradesh assembly and should be
adopted by other assemblies also.

Acharia said Munda represented a region and the people
who were led by the great Birsa Munda to rise in revolt
against British imperialism, while Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI)
wanted the government to translate the gesture of electing
people from scheduled castes and tribes to high posts "into
state practice and policy". PTI