BHOPAL: Senior legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party Girish Gautam was unanimously elected Speaker of the House on Monday. Besides the ruling party, the Opposition supported Gautam, who has won Assembly elections four times in a row. Gautam became a legislator for the first time from Mangawan in 2003 by defeating former Speaker Sriniwas Tiwari.
Gautam has said he will remain neutral as long as he is in the Chair. He cannot forget his family, parents and the place he comes from, Gautam added. The MP Assembly has a great tradition and he will never let that be damaged.
According to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Gautam is one of those legislators who are always concerned about their constituencies. Gautam was always ready to provide medical aid to the residents of his constituency, Chouhan said. Rameshwar Sharma had held the post of pro tem Speaker for the longest period, Chouhan remarked. Sharma’s name would be in the Guinness Book of World Records, he added.
Leader of the Opposition Kamal Nath said, “Mantralaya belongs to the government. The Assembly belongs to the Opposition. So, it’s expected that the Speaker will protect the Opposition’s interests.”
Former Speaker NP Prajapati demanded a law for protecting legislators, as their position is higher than that of the chief secretary’s. Anyone can say anything against a lawmaker, but that shouldn’t happen, Prajapati said.
Gautam welcomed at BJP office
Girish Gautam, who was elected Speaker of the House on Monday, was welcomed at the BJP office
This was the first time that someone, after being elected Speaker, was welcomed at a party office
General secretary of the BJP’s state unit Bhagwandas Sabnani, Harishanker Khathik, Rahul Kothari and other leaders of the party were present at the function