Karia Munda elected deputy speaker of Lok Sabha

Veteran tribal MP from Jharkhand Karia Munda was unanimously elected as the new deputy speaker of Lok Sabha on Monday, 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 LK 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 LK 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". 

Sudip Bandopadhyay of Trinamool Congress said Munda's election had given a "new direction" to the history of Parliamentary democracy, while Arjun Sethi (BJD) said his long experience would enrich the proceedings of Lok Sabha.

Vijay Bahadur Singh (BSP), M Thambidurai (AIADMK) and TR Baalu (DMK) said Munda's election would give added voice to the downtrodden sections of society and extended their cooperation for smooth conduct of proceedings.

In his acceptance speech, Munda thanked all sections of the House for unanimously electing him to the high office, saying he was accepting it in all humility.

Maintaining that he would strive hard to uphold the dignity of the House, he said he assured the speaker of his support and cooperation in conducting business.

Observing that Parliament had emerged as a multi- functional institution over the years, Munda said it was the political nerve centre of the country "which accommodated the needs of changing times". Parliament had also set sound precedents and traditions for its working, he said.

"While we all know that without freedom of speech there cannot be any informed debate, we also have to acknowledge and accept that without order there can be no debate at all," he said.

Differences of opinion on contentious issues could lead to a deadlock which could be resolved through consultation and cooperation among leaders of parties, Munda added.