Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has decided to stay away from House proceedings after Congress filed a no-confidence motion notice against him, alleging partisan conduct. The opposition cited not allowing Rahul Gandhi to speak as a key reason.
This comes after the Congress submitted a no-confidence motion notice against the Lok Sabha Speaker on Tuesday. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “At 1:14 pm today, we submitted a motion for a no-confidence motion against the Speaker under rule 94C rules and procedures.”
Opposition Alleges ‘Partisan’ Conduct
The Opposition MPs alleged “blatantly partisan” conduct and that leaders of opposition parties were not allowed to speak, according to sources. Sources said the notice of motion of no-confidence cited four incidents against the Speaker, including the Opposition’s allegation that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
Sources added that the Opposition MPs also flagged the suspension of eight MPs, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s “objectionable and personalised attacks” against former Prime Ministers and Speaker Om Birla’s statement, where he said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to prevent any unpleasant incident, after receiving information that some Congress MPs could come to the PM’s seat and “resort to an unprecedented incident”.
Allies’ Stance on the Motion
While 118 Opposition MPs have signed the notice, the sources have said that the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, did not sign the notice of no-confidence motion, as it is not proper for the LoP to sign a petition for the removal of the Speaker in a parliamentary democracy. The no-confidence motion had the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
Sources earlier said the party had clarified that it has enough MPs to submit a no-confidence motion notice. “Even if one or two parties do not support it, Congress intends to move the motion within the constitutional timeframe.” On the other hand, the Trinamool Congress has asked the Congress to file an appeal with the Speaker before moving a no-confidence motion against him; if the appeal fails, the party will sign the no-confidence motion.
“Even yesterday we made it clear that all the TMC MPs will sign the no-confidence motion resolution, but our suggestion to them was that the issues, including suspension of MPs, LoP not being allowed to speak, women MPs being falsely accused and that the Chair is working in a biased manner. We said that firstly, we should write a letter in the form of a protest to the Speaker and the signatures of all opposition MPs should be there, and we should give the Speaker two-to-three days’ time. If the Speaker does not take any action on it, then we always have the room to move a no-confidence motion; we have no problem,” Abhishek Banerjee told reporters.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Manickam Tagore took to X to state that the Opposition has taken this step in “extraordinary circumstances.” Tagore wrote, “The Opposition has placed its faith in constitutional propriety. While holding the Hon’ble Speaker in personal regard, we are pained and anguished by the consistent denial of opportunities to Opposition MPs to raise issues of public importance. After many years, a no-confidence notice against the Speaker has been moved–an extraordinary step born out of extraordinary circumstances.”
Row Over Ex-Army Chief’s Unpublished Memoir
Addressing the key aspect of the Opposition’s incension, the refusal of LoP Rahul Gandhi to quote from former Army Chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir, Congress leader Sachin Pilot asked whether the BJP was “scared of having a discussion on the book” and urged the government to allow Rahul Gandhi to speak on the issue in Parliament. He said if any information mentioned in the book about the 2020 India-China standoff was incorrect, the government should refute it, and if it was correct, it should offer clarification.
BJP Condemns Opposition’s Move
The no-confidence motion has, however, garnered stern criticism from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who called the action “condemnable” and described Congress members as “entitled.” Union Minister and LJP MP Chirag Paswan defended Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying he has always tried to give both sides a chance to speak and condemned the Opposition’s move.
Speaking to the reporters, Paswan said, “The Opposition has created a strange situation…Rahul Gandhi’s petulance has washed out the Budget session. Due to this, he did not let the other Opposition MPs speak. You are bringing a no-confidence motion against a Speaker who always tried to give both the ruling and opposition sides a chance to speak. It is condemnable what the Opposition is doing.”
Meanwhile, BJP MP Sambit Patra also lashed out at the Congress over the no-confidence notice, accusing them of disregarding the House’s code of conduct. “The Congress Party’s Rahul Gandhi and the leaders of the Congress Party have proposed a no-confidence motion on the speaker. Parliament will respond to this. I want to say something to the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. You are so entitled that you don’t feel like following any protocols of the House, and then you say you don’t have confidence in anyone,” the BJP MP said in a press conference.
The Memoir at the Centre of the Conflict
The no-confidence motion’s notice comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging that the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Gandhi cited General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir, ‘Four Stars of Destiny,’ to discuss the 2020 standoff against China. The Speaker passed a ruling, asking Gandhi not cite unpublished literature.
On Tuesday, the LoP in the Lok Sabha alleged that the publisher was not giving out the truth by claiming that the book had not gone to print, as the same had been confirmed by the former Army Chief. Following the allegation, Penguin Random House issued a fresh statement saying that “a book is considered published only when it is available for purchase across retail channels.”
“Pre-order is a standard publishing practice. It allows readers and retailers to place advance orders. The book is not yet published or available,” the publishing house said in a statement posted on its social media platforms. The publisher said that “An announced book, a book available for pre-order, and a published book are not the same thing”, and added that it remains “committed to clarity and transparency in the books we publish.”
Later, former Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane also backed Penguin Random House’s statement and confirmed that his memoir, “Four Stars of Destiny”, has not yet been published. Sharing a post on X, Gen Naravane wrote, “This is the status of the book.” (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)