Dr. Munisamy Thambidurai of the AIADMK is the new Deputy Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. He was unanimously elected by members belonging to all parties in the House. Mr Thambidurai’s name was first moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and was seconded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Later, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced the election amidst thumping of desks by members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to congratulate Thambidurai on his election to the post. Mr Modi said, Mr Thambidurai is a seasoned Parliamentarian, academician and political activist. The Prime Minister said that Thambidurai’s long time experience in Parliamentary procedures will help the House in a big way.

Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge expressed hope that Thambidurai will protect the rights of the opposition parties in the House. Later, leaders from several parties congratulated Mr Thambidurai, who was the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House from 1985 to 1989.

A five-term member, Thambidurai represents Karur constituency in Tamil Nadu and his party with 37 members is the second largest party in the opposition after the Congress. The move to give the Deputy Speaker's post to AIADMK is seen as a gesture towards Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha and also a bid to split the opposition ranks.