Om Birla was lectured upon by the INDIA bloc about the tenets of parliamentary democracy immediately after he was elected Lok Sabha Speaker by a voice vote for a second consecutive term on Wednesday.

The Opposition underscored that it now represents “significantly more the voice of the Indian people” that should not be “suppressed” with “suspensions”.

The decks for the election of the NDA’s choice for the House’s high chair were cleared after the Opposition voiced a loud “No” to oppose the motion proposing the name of Birla but did not force a division of votes. Pro-tem Speaker Bhartruhari Mahtab declared Birla elected, saying the “ayes have it”. He declared “infructuous” the motions moved to propose the candidature of the Opposition’s Kodikunnil Suresh.

On the first day of his new role as leader of the Opposition and sporting kurta-pajama, Rahul Gandhi promptly rose from his chair to congratulate Birla on his election. He shook hands with Narendra Modi and went through the tradition of escorting the new Speaker to the Chair along with the Prime Minister and parliamentary affairs minister. Thereafter, however, when he spoke to congratulate Birla, second after the Prime Minister, he laced it with powerful messages for the Chair.

In his short, less than five-minute speech in English, Rahul reminded Birla that the Opposition now has significantly more strength in the House and that the Speaker must do his duty of “defending the Constitution” by allowing it to speak.

“I would like to congratulate you on behalf of the entire Opposition, on behalf of the INDIA alliance. Speaker sir, this House represents the voice of India’s people, and you are the final arbiter of that voice. Of course, the government has political power but the Opposition also represents the voice of India’s people,” Rahul said.

“And this time, the Opposition represents significantly more the voice of the Indian people than it did last time,” he said amid applause from Opposition benches.

Rahul assured the Speaker of the Opposition’s cooperation to run the House “often and well”. At the same time he underscored his point, saying “cooperation happens on the basis of trust”.

“It is very important that the voice of the Opposition is allowed to be represented in this House. I am confident that you will allow us to represent our voice, allow us to speak, allow us to represent the voice of the people,” he said.

“The question is not how efficiently the House is run. The question is how much of India’s voice is allowed to be heard in this House,” Rahul added.

The final punches came in the conclusion. “Speaker sir, so the idea that you can run the House efficiently by silencing the voice of the Opposition is a non-democratic idea. And this election has shown that the people of India expect the Opposition to defend the Constitution, the Samvidhan of this country.”

“And we are confident that by allowing the Opposition to speak, by allowing us to represent the voice of the people of India, you will do your duty of defending the Constitution of India,” Rahul added.

After him was the turn of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, whose party shocked the BJP by winning 37 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. He too was no less scathing without displaying any acrimony in his voice.

Speaking in Hindi, Akhilesh told Birla that the post he was occupying had glorious traditions attached to it, promptly adding that he believed it would continue without any “discrimination”.

“Impartiality is a great responsibility of this great position.... We expect that no public representative’s voice will be stifled, nor will an action like expulsion take place again,” Akhilesh said.

Akhilesh was apparently referring to the unprecedented suspension of more than 100 MPs during the winter session of Parliament last year.

“Your control is on the Opposition but it should be on the ruling side too,” he said.

“I hope that you would respect the Opposition as much as you respect the ruling dispensation and let them present their side,” Akhilesh said.

“Adhyaksh mahoday, aapke ishare par sadan chale, iska ulta na ho (Mr Speaker, the House should run on your directives and the opposite shouldn’t happen),” the SP leader said with a smile on his face.

Laced with sarcasm, Akhilesh sought to draw a difference between the Speaker’s Chair in the old Parliament building and the new one. “In the previous House the Speaker’s Chair was a high one. I don’t know who to say this to — that in this House too it should be as high,” he said, adding that he could spot some cracks with cement visible in the “beautiful wall” behind the Chair.

After Akhilesh, senior Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay rose for his congratulatory speech on Birla’s election. After the initial formalities, Sudip recalled his long experience and said that functioning of the House depends on the “attitude of the Treasury benches”.

“As far as the parliamentary democratic process is concerned, the House belongs to the Opposition. This attitude is to be adopted by the ruling party itself,” he said.

Sudip went on to take swipes at Birla, stressing how he had to “bow down” to “pressure from the ruling party”, a reference to his past term as Speaker. “Sir, you may have your goodwishes and your good intentions. But sometimes, you have to bow down to the rulingparty’s pressure,” he said.

Sudip flagged the suspension of a record number of MPs in the last House under Birla’s watch. “The suspension of 150 MPs in one day has happened in this House. It is not desirable,” he said.

The Trinamool MP picked on the passage of a record number of bills in the last Lok Sabha, which Modi hailed, but added that they were done without any discussion and hoped such a practice doesn’t get repeated in the 18th Lok Sabha.

“The PM has mentioned the introduction and passing of so many bills in the House. We appreciate that. But it has also happened that so many bills have been passed without any discussion,” Sudip said. “I would humbly submit to you that let some positive decisions be taken so that the bills can be tabled and discussed in a proper manner,” he added, assuring cooperation.

DMK’s T.R. Baalu reminded Birla that though he might have been elected on the “lotus” symbol, now the chair he occupies expects him to be non-partisan.

“Sir, you might have been elected on the lotus symbol; the lotus always floats in water but it would not allow the water to stick. Likewise, you might have been elected by my BJP friends but hereafter there should be no politics between you and this House. You do not have any colour,” Baalu said.

“You have to treat the Opposition as well as the ruling party in the same way. So, I would only like to request you to be kindly impartial, impartial and impartial. Thank you,” he added.