S N Patro elected as Odisha assembly speaker

Ruling BJD heavyweight Surjya Narayan Patro was unanimously elected as the speaker of the 16th Odisha Assembly Saturday.

The seven-time legislator's name was proposed by Leader of the House and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and seconded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister B K Arukha.

There was no other candidate for the post of speaker, Protem Speaker Amar Prasad Satpathy said.

After 70-year-old Patro's name was announced as the Speaker, he was escorted to the Speaker's podium by the chief minister and senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra.

"I congratulate the new speaker," Patnaik said.

Mishra said, "We hope the new speaker will function above political considerations and give protection to the opposition to further strengthen democracy."