NEW DELHI: Political and ideological differences took a back seat in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as Munisamy Thambidurai was unanimously elected Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker, which also witnessed the making of Parliamentary history as it was the first instance in the country of an incumbent occupying the top job twice.
Thambidurai,who represents Karur in the Lower House, was elected after a Motion moved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and seconded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, was carried by voice vote amid thumping of desks from the MPs cutting across the party lines.
The BJP and the Congress were among the 11 parties that supported Thambidurai, who had filed his nomination on Tuesday.
After the House adopted the motion moved by Singh and Sushma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Thambidurai. Thereafter, the PM, along with Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, ushered Thambidurai to his new seat beside Speaker Sumitra Mahajan amid chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and thumping of desks from the members.
Modi made a small, but powerful speech, describing Thambidurai as a multifaceted personality and thanked the Opposition parties for making his unanimous election possible.
“Thambidurai is an acclaimed academician and an activist. Above all, he is an agriculturist. He also has rich experience of the Parliament as well as Treasury Bench and he would guide the House along the correct path. I assure him that the government will fully support him in discharging his duties,” the Prime Minister said.
Kharge, who spoke immediately after the PM, said Thambidurai was a warm-hearted and wonderful human being.