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Om Birla, a senior leader representing the Vaishya community in the BJP, was elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha unanimously on Wednesday, 19 June, after being named NDA's nominee for the post on Tuesday, 18 June.
Active in politics since his student days, Birla marked his entry into the mainstream and earned the moniker ‘giant killer’ in 2003, when he defeated Congress stalwart Shanti Dhariwal in Kota South.
In the 2014 election, he defeated Congress' Ijyaraj Singh by a margin of over 2 lakh votes.
Thereafter, he was appointed as Member of the Committee on Estimates.
Birla was also appointed as Member of the Committee on Petitions and Member, Standing Committee on Energy, in September 2014. He held the membership till May 2019.
Besides, he was also appointed as Member of Consultative Committee in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the same year.
In March 2018, Mahendra Gautam, a former assistant of Om Birla, had written a letter to PM Modi and the Supreme Court, mentioning "illegal and corrupt” activities of the parliamentarian, according to media reports.
He had reportedly sought police protection amid threat to his life and family.
Gautam, who was handling Birla's political and financial affairs, had reportedly filed a case against Birla alleging that his then boss was in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Rajasthan High Court dismissed the case in April this year.
During the 2019 polls, Birla had said that "people should re-elect me for giving another term to Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India," India Today had reported.
A Commerce graduate from Kota and MDS university in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, Birla held the position of Chairperson at Rajasthan State Cooperative Consumer Association in Jaipur from June 1992 to June 1995.
He was also the Vice President of National Cooperative Consumer Association Ltd in New Delhi.
In May 2004, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary (MOS) to the Government of Rajasthan. During his tenure, he helped the poor by providing them financial assistance through the state government.
Besides, he was also appointed a member at Coal India Ltd in New Delhi.
In 1997, Birla was appointed as National Vice-President of All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He held the post for 6 consecutive years.
At the age of 17, Birla was elected as president of the Students Association at Govt. Senior Secondary School, Gumanpura, Kota in 1979.
Later, he joined the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh as a prime member.
(With inputs from DNA & India Today)
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Published: 18 Jun 2019,01:00 PM IST