Nominated member Harivansh was elected unopposed as Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha for a third consecutive term on Friday.
Harivansh was elected after a motion to elect him as Deputy Speaker, moved by Leader of the House JP Nadda and seconded by S Phangnon Konyak, was passed by voice vote.
A total of five motions were made to elect Harivansh as the vice-chairman.
“I declare that Harivansh ji has been selected as Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha,” Chairman CP Radhakrishnan said after the motion was passed.
The Speaker then called upon Leader of the House Naddu and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge to accompany him to the seat designated for the Deputy Speaker. The two later took him to a seat next to the Leader of the Opposition in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The office of Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha fell vacant after the term of Harivansh ended on 9 April. He was later nominated as a member of the upper house by President Droupadi Murmu.
PM Modi and Kharge later congratulated Harivansh on his election.
“It’s a tribute to experience and adoption of an intuitive style of work,” Modi said, congratulating him.
“We have all witnessed the increasing effectiveness of the power of the House under the leadership of Harivansh ji and I can say that she is not only directing the proceedings of the House but also using her life experience to enrich the House,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi said Harivansh’s election to the post for the third time reflects the confidence the House has in him and his experience.
This is the first time that a nominated member has been elected vice-chairman. Harivansh was a journalist earlier.
Kharge expressed hope that the Deputy Speaker would take care of the opposition and give it sufficient time in the House. The Leader of the Opposition hoped that during his third term, Harivansh would give more importance to the opposition to help keep democracy alive.
The Congress president further said that he was pained by the fact that the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha is lying vacant from 2019, which is against the spirit of the Constitution.
Earlier, the Samajwadi Party and the TMC staged a strike when the motion to elect Harivansh was taken up.
Other motions in favor of Harivansh included those by BJP President Nitin Nabin and supported by BJP MP Brij Lal.
Another motion was moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and seconded by BJP MP Surendra Singh Nagar, while the fourth motion was moved by JDU MP and working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and seconded by RLM MP Upendra Kushwaha.
Another announcement was made by RLD MP and Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary, who was seconded by Shiv Sena MP Milind Murli Deora in favor of Harivansh.
