India elects first female lower house parliament speaker
16:50, 3 June 2009
NEW DELHI. June 3. KAZINFORM India's lower house of parliament has for the first time elected a woman as its speaker, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced during a parliament session broadcast live on Wednesday; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
Meira Kumar, 64, was the only candidate and was backed by the governing Congress-led coalition and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Kumar replaces Somnath Chatterjee, a Communist lawmaker who held the post for the previous five years.
"It is a historic moment as a woman has been considered for this important and august post," Kumar said on Tuesday after filing her nomination for the job; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti.
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