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I, on behalf of my Party, extend our warmest felicitations to him and assure him of our utmost cooperation in helping him to discharge his duties in a way which will bring him further credit in addition to whatever credit he has already accumulated in these many years.
I have nothing further to say. I am extremely happy and all Members here, I am sure, are happy with the choice of the House that has fallen unanimously on Shri P.M. Sayeed. That is also a record in the sense that there was some apprehension of some controversies being aroused over the choice. But ultimately, Sir, as you know, the matter has been settled unanimously. This is a no small measure due to Shri Sayeed's own personality, his reputation and his great standing in the House.
So, I join with all the other leaders in once again expressing our felicitations and congratulations to him for his election.
Since I have known him from the day he came here, as I said, I was present there when he came, I am certain that when he adorns this Chair, he will continue to uphold those values for which we all stand for. And we all see to it that democratic values, democratic procedures, democratic attitudes prevail under all circumstances.
I wish him good luck and I wish our House good wishes because I think, we have chosen the right person for this post.
Shri Sayeed is a linguist. He is proficient in Hindi, English, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Tulu. In a sense, he represents the composite culture of our country and is hence eminently suited to hold the high office of the Deputy Speaker.
It was 1996. I went to Lakshadweep to attend a reception that Shri Sayeed had organised in connection with the marriage of his daughters. It was then that I realised the place that Shri Sayeed has in the hearts of his people. His entire village had turned up in his humble house. Virtually, all the islanders in the village and nearby places attended the reception. They sat inside his house, in his courtyard, in the sea-front and under coconut trees and helped themselves to the very same simple lunch in congregational style. There was no distinction between the rich and the poor, high and the lowly, close relatives and others.
No wonder, Shri Sayeed has returned to this House nine times over consecutively. In fact, Shri Sayeed and Shri Khagpati Pradhani are the two Members of this august House whose names have been entered in the Guinnes Book of World Record for having elected to Parliament eight consecutive times.
For him, maturing in our parliamentary democracy through the terms of 11 out of 12 Presidents and 11 out of 14 Prime Ministers should have been a ground experience. This house has already seen this experience in display in the performance of Shri Sayeed as a member of the panel of Chairmen.
Shri Sayeed is a senior politician, senior to me in politics. Nonetheless in 1995-96, when both of us were working in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, I was the Cabinet Minister and he was the Minister of State. The gentleman that Shri Sayeed is, he never brought our relative political seniority positions to affect our hierarchical relationship in the Ministry. We had excellent working relationship. I found that God has gifted Shri Sayeed with a mind and heart which are as serene as the blue lagoons of Lakshadweep.
Thomas Gray, the famous British poet of the romantic period, in his elegy written on a country churchyard sang:
"Full many a gem of purest rays serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear,
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness in the desert air."
Shri Sayeed is a coral gem; is a lilly of lagoons; we have fathomed this gem out of the Arabic Sea for us to wear; presented this flower to adorn our House Chair. We have proved the poet wrong. I am sure, he will shine. He will spread fragrance.
Hon. Shri P.M. Sayeed, I wish you all the bounties of God and success in your new assignment. Thank you, Sir.
This day will be remembered because today we have elected a person who is the most popular leader of the most beautiful island of our country. Shri P.M. Sayeed has been elected continuously as a Member of this House since 1967. Since the time I was elected in 1980, I have seen him as a Member, as a Parliamentarian, as a Minister and as a member of the panel of Chairman in this House. I have seen his capabilities and efficiency. It would have been better if he was elected earlier also. We wanted to keep up the traditions of this House in electing the Deputy-Speaker from the Opposition. I am extremely happy that Shri P.M. Sayeed, a person of stature, personality, capability, efficiency, democratic approach, impartiality and a Parliamentarian with a long tenure, has been elected unanimously today. We sincerely hope that as the Deputy-Speaker of Lok Sabha, he will be able to maintain the dignity and decorum of the House. What is needed today is that the voice of all sections of this House should be reflected and also protected. We sincerely hope that this can be done under his Deputy-Speakership.
On behalf of my party, I extend our sincere cooperation to Shri P.M. Sayeed in conducting the business of the House.