Om Birla to be next Lok Sabha Speaker

New Delhi, June 18: Two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kota, Rajasthan, Om Birla, will be the next Lok Sabha Speaker.

His name was earlier today proposaed as the the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said four top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the proposal to nominate Om Birla. Joshi said leaders of 10 other parties including the Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP and Naveen Patnaik's BJD had supported Om Birla's name for the Speaker's post.

The Congress hasn't reacted on the BJP's choice. But leaders of some other opposition parties such as Chandrababu Naidu's TDP have indicated that they would go along with the ruling party's choice, said reports.

"The Prime Minister, Defence Minister, Home Minister, Transport Minister were the proposers. BJD, Shiv Sena, National People's Party, Mizo National Front, Akali Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, YSRCP, JDU, AIADMK, and Apna Dal have signed the proposal," Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said.

Birla met BJP working president J P Nadda this morning.

"I have no information, I had just went to meet the working president as a 'karyakarta'," news agency ANI quoted Birla as saying after hi meeting with Nadda earlier today.

Om Birla is a two time BJP MP from Kota and three-time MLA from the Kota South Assembly seat. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Om Birla defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by a massive margin of over 2.5 lakh votes.

"It is a very proud and a happy moment for us. We are very thankful to the cabinet for choosing him," said Om Birla's wife Amita Birla on reports that BJP will be appointing her husband as the Speaker of the House.

Yesterday was the first day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at Parliament after the BJP won Lok Sabha elections for the second time in a row by bagging over 300 seats. On Monday, a total of 320 members of Parliaments took oath including the Prime Minister and his council of ministers.

The oaths were administered by Pro-tem Speaker Virendra Kumar.

The Speaker will be elected on June 19 and on the next day President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of both Houses. The budget will be introduced on July 5.