Akali Dal member of Parliament and former speaker of the Punjab assembly, Charanjit Singh Atwal, was on Wednesday unanimously elected deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee moved the motion for Atwal's election, which was seconded by Leader of
the Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee and eight others moved identical motions which were supported by other members.

Those who moved the motions were National Democratic Alliance convenor George Fernandes, Chandrakant Khaire, T R Baalu, Devendra Prasad Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Ram Gopal Yadav, Rajesh Verma and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee declared Atwal elected as deputy speaker amid loud thumping of desks.

Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Advani and Mukherjee escorted Atwal to his seat next to the Leader of the Opposition.

A seasoned politician and lawmaker, 67-year-old Atwal represents Phillaur (reserved) constituency in Punjab. He is
the second Sikh to hold the coveted post, the first being Hukum Singh who was elected deputy speaker in March 1956.

Born in Montgomery in what is now Pakistan on March 15, 1937, Atwal obtained a law degree from the Punjab University, Chandigarh.

He was speaker of the Punjab assembly from 1997 to 2002; before that he was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1985 to 1989.