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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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
