New Delhi: The Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a resolution to Om Birla as Lok Sabha speaker. In the undersigned letters, they accused Birla of functioning in a partisan manner while conducting Lok Sabha proceedings. They have also accused him of making false allegations against some Congress leaders.
Letter submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General
The letter was submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several Opposition parties. The notice was signed by 120 MPs from Opposition parties, DMK, Congress, RJD, and Samajwadi Party. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), however, did not sign the notice. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi too did not sign the notice, news agency PTI reported.
“We, the undersigned, hereby give notice of a resolution for the removal of Shri Om Birla from the office of Speaker Lok Sabha, in terms of the provisions of Article 94(c) of the Constitution of India, because of the blatantly partisan manner in which he has been conducting the business of the Lok Sabha,” the notice said.
Referring to various incidents, the notice said that Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to complete his speech on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address on February 2. The notice further said that eight Opposition MPs were “arbitrarily suspended” for the entire Budget session. It said that they were punished for exercising their democratic rights.
No action taken against particular MP: Opposition
“In spite of our request, no action has been taken against this particular MP, who is a habitual offender,” they wrote further. They also referred to Birla’s remarks that he had “concrete information” that some Congress members might move near Narendra Modi’s seat and carry out “some unexpected act”. He had said that due to this the PM was requested not to come to the House.
“The aforementioned remarks cast blatantly false allegations against the members of the Indian National Congress and are derogatory in nature. The Speaker, who is required to be the custodian of the Rules of Procedure and the norms of parliamentary decorum, chose the floor of the House to make such statements, which is indicative of an abuse of this constitutional office,” the notice said.
“While we hold the Speaker, Lok Sabha, in personal regard, we are pained and anguished at the manner in which he has consistently prevented opposition members of Parliament from raising issues of legitimate public concern,” the notice added further.