New Jharkhand Speaker Dinesh Oraon gets backing of all parties

RANCHI: BJP's Dinesh Oraon got the backing of parties of all hues to be elected unanimously as the Speaker of Jharkhand Assembly today.

Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi announced the election of Oraon, who was the only one to have filed nomination yesterday, as unanimous.

Oraon was escorted to the chair by Chief Minister Raghuvar Das and his predecessor and JMM leader Hemant Soren.

"The way you rose above party lines keeping faith and hope, I realize the importance and responsibility (of the office)," Oraon said in his speech after becoming the Speaker.

His nomination papers had been filed yesterday in five sets with the first one proposed by the chief minister and seconded by Social Welfare Minister Louis Marandi.

The second one was proposed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandreswar Prasad Singh and seconded by BJP MLA Anant Kumar Ojha while the third bore the names of Hemant Soren and party MLA Nalin Soren as proposer and seconder respectively.

The fourth set of papers were proposed by Drinking and Sanitation Minister Chandraprakash Choudhary of the Ajsu party and seconded by BJP MLA Neera Yadav and the last set by Congress MLA and ex-Speaker Alamgir Alam and seconded by JVM (Prajatantrik) MLA Pradip Yadav.

"Through all of you, I have the support and confidence of 3.15 crore people of the state. I can conduct the House without difficulty as both the ruling and the opposition sides are with me," Oraon said in his written speech.

The Speaker said his predecessors -- Inder Singh Namdhari, Mrigendra Pratap Singh, Alamgir Alam, Chandreswar Prasad Singh and Shashank Sekhar Bhokta, are invaluable sources of inspiration for him.

Chief Minister Raghuvar Das, former chief minister Hemant Soren, ex-Speaker Alamgir Alam, JVM Legislature Party leader Pradip Yadav, former deputy chief minister Stephen Marandi, who conducted the house as Pro-tem before the election of Speaker, and several other members congratulated Oraon.