Bundi : Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP MP from Kota, Om Birla, said on Saturday that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha is a constitutional post and said he expected all to follow parliamentary dignity.

Om Birla visited his parliamentary constituency of Kota on Saturday after being re-elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and he also held a road show in Bundi and Kota. He was referring to Rahul Gandhi, who came under fire from the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for his alleged anti-Hindu remarks made in the Lok Sabha.

“LoP is a constitutional post and I expect all to follow parliamentary dignity,” Om Birla said in response to a query about Rahul Gandhi.  He also expressed gratitude to all the members of the Lok Sabha for his re-election as Speaker.

Om Birla told , “I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all the members of Lok Sabha that they gave me the responsibility for the second term. I’ll try to work as per their expectations”.  “In the House, I try to conduct debate with parliamentary dignity, be it with the members of government or the opposition,” Birla added.

 Om Birla also said that the country will move ahead and achieve new achievements in the third term of the Narendra Modi government.

 “…The country will continue to move ahead as PM Modi formed the government for the third time. We will try that the state and central government continue to work together. I am happy that investment in both the private and public sectors is coming to India…In this third term of PM Modi, I think the country will establish newer achievements…,” he said.

 The Lok Sabha Speaker also described the Lower House as the temple of democracy, days after the conclusion of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, held from June 24 to July 12.

“Lok Sabha is a temple of democracy, the centre of the people’s faith. We try to run the parliament till late at night, as we believe that people who are voted to sit there have aspirations for their region, and to include everyone’s ideas so that we collectively move ahead.”

 The Lok Sabha Speaker said that he has spent his life working as a social-political worker and the people have blessed him.

 “For a long time, I have spent my life here working as a social-political worker. People have shown faith and have blessed me. I have been contesting elections from here since 2003 and they have continued to bless me,” Birla said.

He further said that they are striving to turn Kota into a hub of education to impart education to children from the country.

 “This area is agriculture-based and we will try to develop agro-based industries here. We have potential in tourism that we will develop further. In the education sector, this area is well developed and hence we are putting efforts into making it a hub of education so that the children from the country and abroad can get an education here,” he added.