Meira Kumar’s election hailed in Canadian parliament

September 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian parliament's sittings should be increased to 110 days a year, Speaker Meira Kumar said Saturday. "We should increase the number of sittings (of parliament) to 110 days," the speaker told reporters here, adding that "disruption of the house proceedings is a major concern for everybody".

July 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Thursday mourned the death of Rajmata Gayatri Devi, the erstwhile maharani of Jaipur, saying she was "a distinguished member of parliament and an exemplary human being". Gayatri Devi, who was once considered one of the world's most beautiful women and always stayed in the limelight despite the fall of royalty in India, died in Jaipur Wednesday.

June 6th, 2009 TORONTO - The election of Meira Kumar as India's first woman and Dalit speaker figured in the Canadian parliament Friday, with Indian-origin MP Deepak Obhrai describing it as a "miracle" of Indian democracy. Obhrai, 58, who as the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon is the highest-ranking Indian in the government, said: "Wednesday, Meira Kumar was elected unanimously as the speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha, the lower house in the Indian Parliament." With her election, he said, Kumar has joined "other female leaders of India, the likes of Indira Gandhi, current President Pratibha Patil and business leaders like the CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, all of whom inspire millions of women in South Asia".

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - History was made Wednesday when diplomat-turned-politician Meira Kumar became the first woman speaker of the Indian parliament, the otherwise fractious house setting aside its differences to elect the Dalit leader unanimously. The 64-year-old Congress leader from Bihar was chosen for the post of speaker of the Lok Sabha, a key constitutional post, after party president Sonia Gandhi proposed her name.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Meira Kumar, who was elected the first woman speaker of India Wednesday, exhorted Lok Sabha MPs to put the elections behind them and address the social and economic problems facing the country. Speaking in the Lok Sabha after being elected to the coveted post, Meira Kumar, a five-time MP, said: The world is passing through its worst-ever recession and India is not separated from it.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - History was made in India Wednesday when diplomat-turned-politician Meira Kumar, 64, became the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha - the lower house of parliament - with MPs cutting across party lines to elect the Dalit leader. The newly elected members of the 15th Lok Sabha watched in rapt attention as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of Opposition L.K.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The first ruling from Meira Kumar, the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, came when two Yadav leaders from her home state of Bihar exchanged heated arguments in the house. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad was making a speech to congratulate Meira Kumar when Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav opposed some of his remarks, leading to a heated discussion between the two that forced the speaker to issue a directive to reporters to expunge the arguments.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Meira Kumar, the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, Wednesday said she would be impartial and give equal opportunity to all members to express their views. "It will be my endeavour that I am completely impartial in my conduct and I give opportunity to all the members to express their views," Meira Kumar said, addressing her first press conference after being elected speaker of the lower house of parliament.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Calling her election as the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha a "historic decision", Meira Kumar said here Wednesday that she would be impartial and give equal opportunity to all members to express their views. "It will be my endeavour that I am completely impartial in my conduct and I give opportunity to all the members to express their views," Meira Kumar said, addressing her first press conference after being elected speaker of the lower house of parliament.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Meira Kumar, who is set to become the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament, is a former diplomat who left the foreign service to fight the cause of Dalits. Daughter of Babu Jagjivan Ram, India's independence movement leader who rose to become the defence minister and deputy prime minister of India, the MP from Sasaram in Bihar was handpicked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take on the mantle of speaker, a challenging task for a woman to manage a house of 545 MPS that is prone to erupt into chaos and disorder at the slightest provocation.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Congress leader Meira Kumar Tuesday filed her nomination for the post of Lok Sabha speaker. Her nomination, proposed by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress in the house Pranab Mukherjee, leader of opposition L.K.

June 2nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi Tuesday welcomed the candidature of Meira Kumar for the Lok Sabha Speaker.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Meira Kumar, who is set to take over as India's first woman Lok Sabha speaker, Monday expertly dodged persistent queries from waiting media persons, saying with a smile: "Wait till June 3" - the day of election for the post. Meira Kumar, 64, quit as cabinet minister for water resources Sunday.

May 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is readying for the first session of the 15th Lok Sabha from Monday with the formal swearing in of the 543 newly elected MPs. Two days have been earmarked for the procedure that will be followed by the election of the Lok Sabha speaker and the joint address to parliament by President Pratibha Patil.

May 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India is set to get its first woman Lok Sabha speaker with the Congress zeroing in on Water Resources Minister Meira Kumar, daughter of late former deputy prime minister and veteran Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram. A five-time MP, Meira Kumar won from Sasaram in Bihar, while she had been elected earlier from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.