UPA supporters congratulate Speaker Alamgir Alam at the Assembly. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Oct. 20: Alamgir Alam was today elected as the fourth Speaker of the Assembly.

The Congress legislator from Pakur is the second Speaker — after Mrigendra Pratap Singh — to have unanimously elected in the House.

Former Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari had to face elections both in 2001 and 2005. Namdhari quit the chair in Sepetmber 2004 after he had decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections and also became the state unit JD(U) chief.

“The former Speaker at times found himself helpless because all had not voted for him. But, you enjoy everyone’s support and therefore you have to be equal to all,” said Bhavnathpur legislator Bhanu Pratap Sahi.

Chief minister Madhu Koda, in his address, thanked the Opposition for helping the treasury bench set a healthy tradition in parliamentary democracy after giving consent to Alam’s name.

He added that the House would set new milestones in the history of parliamentary democracy under Alam’s guidance.

Former chief minister Arjun Munda urged the Speaker to take care of the state’s welfare. He reminded that infiltration from Bangladesh was an acute problem in Jharkhand, particularly in Sahebganj and Pakur. He said during a recent meeting with the Union home minister on the country’s internal security, the Bengal chief minister, too, had admitted that the demography of certain pockets of his state had changed.

“It is our prime responsibility to give basic amenities to people living in the state. We have miserably failed in our mission due to various reasons. Under such circumstances how can we allow illegal immigration from other countries? Infiltration from Bangladesh is a grave problem in your constituency as well. I hope you will take care of it,” said Munda.

Namdhari explained the literal meanings of the word “Alamgir Alam” saying the new Speaker proves his worth in accordance with his name. Namdhari said “Alam”, in Arabic, means “scholar” and in Persian it means the “world”. In Arabic “Alamgir” means “one who commands knowledge and wisdom” and in Persian it means “one who guides the world”.

“In this Assembly, you will be our guide,” he told Alam.