LS members sing birthday greetings to wish Mahajan

Lok Sabha members on Wednesday sang birthday greetings in the house to wish Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on her birthday.

Soon after the house met for the day, members -- irrespective of party affiliations -- greeted Mahajan.

Several members -- both from the treasury and opposition benches -- were heard singing "Happy birthday to you".

Congratulating the Speaker on behalf of the house, Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar said: "We wish you a healthy and long life."

Mahajan thanked all the members of the house for their best wishes.

Born in Chiplun, Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) in 1943, Mahajan was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014 for the eighth time -- one of three members of the 16th Lok Sabha to do so -- and she is currently the longest-serving woman member. She also holds the unique distinction of being the only woman MP to get elected eight consecutive times from the same constituency (Indore in Madhya Pradesh).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his colleagues in the union Council of Ministers also wished Mahajan earlier.

"Birthday wishes to the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajanji. Praying for her long and healthy life," the Prime Minister tweeted.

The Lok Sabha Speaker is one of the highest constitutional functionaries in India's parliamentary system.

Joining the illustrious line of Speakers, Mahajan was elected unanimously to the exalted position on June 6, 2014 after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power.

--IANS

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