Odisha Assembly gets first woman Speaker

Bhubaneswar: Six-time MLA and senior Biju Janata Dal leader Pramila Mallik was on Friday elected unopposed as the Speaker of Odisha Assembly.

Speaker in-charge Rajanikant Singh announced Pramila’s election as the first woman Speaker of Odisha Assembly at a special session held before the commencement of the monsoon session of the House.

The Opposition BJP and Congress did not field any candidate for the election to the Speaker's post. Leader of the House and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik moved a motion on Pramila’s installation as the Speaker which was seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari.

Later, Naveen, Opposition BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi, Congress Legislature Party leader Narasingha Mishra and other senior members accompanied Pramila to take the seat as the Speaker of the House.

In her first speech in the House, Pramila thanked all the members and sought their cooperation for the smooth functioning of the proceedings.