I am grateful to you all for electing me unanimously to the office of the Speaker of Lok Sabha. It is an unprecedented event. This House has created history by electing a woman to the office of the Speaker for the first time in its 57-year-long life and, thus, set a shining standard. I am overwhelmed by the niceties just expressed in the House by the leaders of various parties. I am also overwhelmed by the gracious words you have spoken in my praise. I am falling short of words to express my gratitude for the same. I am obliged. I humbly accept the honour you have bestowed on me.

My hearty congratulations to you all on being elected to the 15th Lok Sabha. The nation has entrusted this august representative body with the solemn responsibility to determine the destiny of more than a hundred crore people belonging to one of the ancient civilizations and the biggest democracy of the world to this greatest representative body.

And now you have entrusted me the solemn responsibility of holding the office of Speaker of this august representative body. I feel proud and humbled by the unwavering faith you have reposed in me. On being elected Speaker, my first and foremost duty is to serve the House by upholding the Indian Constitution, rules and conventions and by rising above various political ideologies and affiliations. In fact, this is a service to the nation, because this House is a microcosm of India.

Hon. Members, when I was a school child, I witnessed many times from the Visitors’ Gallery as to how the stalwarts of our freedom struggle took decisions in the interest of the people of this country, especially those the dalits, the deprived, the weak and the marginalized. Those were the leaders who were guided by the passion to sacrifice their all for the country and who laid the foundation of high traditions of allegiance and discipline in the House. When for the first time in 1985, I came here as a Lok Sabha Member, I sat on one of the rear seats. Sitting there was a pleasure in its own right. From there, I could see the entire House but I could hardly be noticed by other hon. Members. That time, many learned and eloquent orators were present there and I listened to their speeches with rapt attention. Hon. Members, I pledge hereby that I will leave no stone unturned to keep the dignity of the House and honour of hon. Members intact. I am well acquainted with the ideals of my reputed predecessors, right from Shri Ganesh Vasudeo Mavalankar to Shri Somnath Chatterjee who had observed the great conventions of this House. The have enhanced the dignity of the office of Speaker, thereby glorifying the prestige of this august House. I shall continue my endeavors to take initiatives and explore better methodology to enrich this valuable legacy of this great institution.

The House of the People is the reflection of the aspirations of the people of the country. Mahatma Gandhi had once said 'Power resides in the people, and it is entrusted for the time being to those whom they may choose as their representatives. The Members of Parliament have no power and existence independently of the people'. We must understand properly what our electorate expect of us. They want that we should present their concerns and apprehensions effectively in the House and frame laws as and when the need arises. Therefore, we must discuss and debate and even express our dissent if necessary, but that too with decency and should not interrupt the House. There may be some sections of persons in the House who hold that stalling the proceedings of the House is the only way to express their dissent in an effective manner. No countryman would ever like the proceedings of the Parliament to be stalled for raising issues concerning him in the House. In fact, many devices are available to Honourable Members to raise problems of the people and their concerns in the House. If we use these devices effectively, we can transform the House into a useful forum for deliberations.

The people have given a clear mandate in favour of stability and good governance despite the speculations of a fractured mandate and a hung Lok Sabha. In the Westmister system that we have been practicing, the executive is a part of Parliament and it is always accountable to it. The effectiveness of the members lies in the fact how capable they are in keeping the Executive always alert without hampering the works of Parliament or executive. The interruptions in the proceedings of the Parliament do not allow achievements and omissions and commissions of the Government to be reviewed and the tenets of democracy demands that this should not happen.

The people expect good governance from us. It should be our endeavour to come upto their expectations notwithstanding whether we belong to the Treasury Benches or the Opposition. We should draw inspiration from the architect of Indian Parliamentary Democracy, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, according to whom democracy implied having tolerance and respect for those who agree or disagree with us. Constructive co-operation of all the hon. Members of the House is necessary for ensuring good governance in the second most populous country of the world. The people of the country have pinned great hopes in you and I believe that you will leave no stone unturned in your endeavour to uplift their lives.

It is perceived that a Member of Parliament represents his constituency, party and, of course, his conscience in the House, but what is significant is that owing to our taking oath in the name of the Constitution, we represent the country as a whole which is a shining example of the nation’s unity, integrity and sovereignty. You may face a situation during your tenure as a Member when these diverse roles will clash with each other. In such a situation, our commitment to the Constitution should be paramount over our other duties. Then alone can the House function smoothly. A mature Member of Parliament is one who can successfully come out of such a dilemma with the help of his common sense, knowledge and sharp mental faculties. I am sure that there is no dearth of such Parliamentarians amongst us.

Hon. Members, as you all are aware, this general election has been unique in the sense that the youth of the country were aware of the value of their votes and came out in large numbers to the polling booths to exercise their franchise. It should remain our priority to fulfill the hopes and expectations of Young India. Since youth are curious and impatient by nature, which they should be, there is a need to undertake this work as soon as possible. We shall have to bring home to them the fact that we are conscious and aware of their hopes and aspirations and would focus all our efforts to fulfill them. It gives me great pleasure to note that young parliamentarians have registered their conspicuous presence amongst the 302 newly elected Members. We should boost their morale so that they could provide able leadership to the country. We have among us several seasoned parliamentarians having rich experience of parliamentary life and distinguished political background. I would like to request them to pay special attention to apprising the newly elected parliamentarians of the parliamentary conventions and democratic conduct. I would also want all the Members to be regularly attending the House.

It is a matter of happiness for me that the Fifteenth Lok Sabha, of which I have the honour of presiding over, has 58 women parliamentarians, their largest number so far in the House. This proves that the Indian woman can no longer wait for her emancipation from the social shackles for achieving equal opportunities of progress. Two years ago we sent auspicious message to the villages across the country and to the international community by electing the first woman President of the country. Now by electing the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha, we have reiterated our intention that we are votaries of women’s empowerment not only through our words but also are committed for implementing it at the ground level. I strongly wish that by moving forward in this manner, this House will henceforth be unanimous in matters of women’s empowerment.

Hon. Members, the time is now ripe for us to try and resolve the social and economic challenges before the nation by putting the heat and dust of the electoral battle aside. The world is going through a phase of unprecedented economic recession. Apparently, this crisis is global in nature and our country is not isolated from it. The moot point is how we can pave the way for the country on the path of progress despite this global economic slowdown. This should be a cause of national concern so that we could unanimously try to find solution to such problems. It is high time that we arrived at a national perspective by rising above party lines and considerations.

Though we have made considerable progress in the last more than six decades yet we would all agree that we still have a long way to go so that we can establish an egalitarian society, going beyond religions, castes and the socio-economic divide. The freedom that we have today cannot be called real freedom as it is merely political freedom. It is meaningless for a very large number of people - majority of whom belong to Schedules Castes and Schedules Tribes - unless we raise their standard of living, alleviate their poverty, provide them food, clothing and housing and free them from every kind of exploitation, injustice and oppression and also provide them equal opportunities for their all-round development. This social task is to be accomplished in the full measure. There cannot be a greater reward than the satisfaction that you have done your duty to the nation. This is the mandate that the people have given to each one of us by electing us to the Lok Sabha.

Hon’ble Members, your participation and involvement are very important to run the House as smoothly as possible. Therefore, it is my request to all, the seniors and newcomers alike, to extend cooperation to the Chair as per the parliamentary conventions and enable me to discharge my constitutional responsibilities as bestowed upon me by the House. I can assure you that every section of the House will receive my attention in ample measure. I would also like to assure that I will neither be biased to the Opposition nor I would give any reason to the Treasury Benches to complain.

The media is a strong pillar of our parliamentary system and it plays a pivotal role not only in the dissemination of information, but also in spreading political awareness. If disruptions do occur, the media is duty bound to report such incidents to the public but at the same time I would urge the media to also highlight the substantial quantum of good work done by the Members of Parliament.

I am extremely indebted to the entire House for the goodwill shown to me. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Leader of the House, Hon’ble Leader of Opposition, Hon’ble leader of the UPA, Hon’ble Leaders of Groups and Parties and all the Hon’ble Members for their kind words of appreciation and support. It shall be my endeavor to do full justice to the confidence you all have reposed in me.

I also take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to the Pro tem Speaker Shri Manickrao Gavitji for the dignified and smooth conduct of the House during the last three days.

The Lok Sabha Secretariat is known as a most efficient organization and it is famous for its commitment to duty even under trying circumstances. I am sure that I would get unstinted cooperation of the officers and staff of the Secretariat in conducting the smooth functioning of the House.

I would like to conclude by saying that this is not an ordinary House, it is a divine place. It is the temple of our great democracy.

Let us all take a vow to dedicate ourselves by heart, words and deeds to serve the democracy, the spirit of India.

Thank you.