Expect opposition voice won't be crushed: Akhilesh Yadav's appeal to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday congratulated Om Birla after he was elected as Speaker of the Lok Sabha and urged him to give equal opportunities and respect to every member and party in the House.
"I congratulate you and extend your best wishes on behalf of all my colleagues. The post that you are occupying has glorious traditions attached to it.We believe that this will continue without any discrimination and as Lok Sabha Speaker you will give equal opportunities and respect to every member and party. Impartiality is a great responsibility of this great position," Yadav said.
"We expect that no public representative's voice will be stifled, nor will an action like expulsion take place again. Your control is on the Opposition but it should be on the ruling side too. The House should function on your signals and not the other way round. We stand with all your just decisions...I hope that you would respect the Opposition as much as you respect the ruling dispensation and let them present their side," he added.
Earlier in the day, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and MP from Kota, Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.
A motion for the same was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The motion was adopted by the house through a voice vote.
The house echoed with 'Ayes' and 'Noes' and the pro-tem speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Om Birla as the Speaker of the lower house. The opposition which had filed K Suresh as the Speaker candidate of the INDIA bloc did not press for a division vote.
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also congratulated Birla on behalf of the entire Opposition and the INDIA alliance
"This House represents the voice of India's people and you are the final arbiter of that voice. The government has political power but the opposition also represents the voice of India's people and this time, the opposition represents significantly more voice of the Indian people than it did last time," the Congress MP said.
Rahul Gandhi also assured the Speaker on behalf of the entire opposition of assisting the speaker in the functioning of the House.
"The opposition would like to assist you in doing your work. We would like the House to function often and well. It is very important that cooperation happens based on trust. It is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House," said Rahul Gandhi.