Thambidurai is LS Dy Speaker

New Delhi : AIADMK leader M. Thambidurai was on Wednesday unanimously elected the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The motion for his election was moved by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and seconded by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Almost all parties, including the Congress, supported his election.

Congratulating Thambidurai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "He is an academic, activist and an agriculturist too. I assure the government will give complete cooperation to you."

He said Thambidurai is a "multi-faceted personality" and thanked all parties, especially those in the opposition, to have made his unanimous election possible. Thambidurai filed his nomination for the post on Tuesday.

The AIADMK has 37 MPs in the lower house of Parliament and is the third largest party after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

Thambidurai, a five-time member, represents Karur constituency in Tamil Nadu. Leader of the Congress Mallikarjun Kharge, whose party has still not been given the post of the leader of the opposition, said Thambidurai was "large-hearted" and will help the opposition to put forth its point of view.

He was escorted to his designated seat in the Lok Sabha by Modi and Kharge.