Om Birla likely to be speaker again, might get elected unopposed
New Delhi: The NDA has decided to nominate Om Birla for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker once again, following days of speculation. BJP's Om Birla, who served as Speaker in the previous Lok Sabha, is set to file his nomination today. Sources indicate that the opposition INDIA bloc is unlikely to contest the post, making Birla's election unopposed a strong possibility.
Despite the BJP being the single-largest party in Parliament with 240 seats, it falls 32 seats short of a majority, relying on allies like Nitish Kumar's JDU and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP to maintain power. This situation contrasts with the previous elections in 2014 and 2019, where the BJP had enough majority to nominate Sumitra Mahajan and Om Birla without challenge.
The Opposition has called for the Deputy Speaker to be chosen from their ranks. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has communicated this demand to senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh.
Earlier today, Om Birla held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of day 2 of the Parliament session. Birla, who has been associated with the BJP since his days as a student leader, currently serves as an MP from the Kota-Bundi constituency in Rajasthan. He was reelected for a second consecutive term in the recent Lok Sabha elections and has previously served three terms as an MLA in the Rajasthan Assembly.
In 2019, Birla was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha, becoming the first MP from Rajasthan to hold the position.
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J&K: One dead, seven hospitalised after consuming wild vegetable in Rajouri
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): One person died while seven others, mostly children, were hospitalised after allegedly consuming a wild vegetable in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, officials said on Saturday.
The incident was reported from Mohra village in the Kotranka subdivision, where members of two families consumed a wild vegetable following which they started showing symptoms of food poisoning on Friday evening, they said.
The affected persons were initially shifted to the Community Health Centre in Kandi and later referred to the Government Medical College Hospital Rajouri for specialised treatment.
Officials said an elderly man, identified as Mohammad Hussain (60), died during treatment, while seven other members of the two families are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
“Prima facie, it is a case of food poisoning, but the matter is still under investigation,” a doctor said.
Officials said an investigation into the incident has been initiated to determine the exact cause of the poisoning.
