Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday responded to the no-confidence motion submitted against him by the Opposition, asking the Lower House secretariat to “examine the notice and expedite the process”.
The motion, carrying 118 signatures, was submitted to Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress leaders K Suresh, Gaurav Gogoi, and Md Javed.
Birla’s response to the no-confidence motion came within an hour of its submission. He asked the Lok Sabha secretariat “to examine the no-confidence notice and to expedite the process”.
The resolution has been moved under Article 94(c) of the Constitution, alleging a “blatantly partisan manner” in the conduct of the Lok Sabha proceedings, according to the text of the notice, accessed exclusively by Hindustan Times.
The notice also states that the Leaders of Opposition parties have repeatedly been denied a chance to speak in the House, a move they said is a denial of their basic democratic right.
The Lok Sabha has been mired in a prolonged logjam amid the ongoing Budget session.
In earlier efforts to break the deadlock, Birla met with the top brass of the Centre and the Opposition leaders, including LoP Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee, and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav.
Opposition leaders presented several demands, including allowing the Leader of the Opposition to speak and reconsidering the suspension of eight MPs. Earlier, Congress leader KC Venugopal hinted at action against the Speaker, accusing the Chair of sidelining the Opposition and not allowing its members to raise significant issues.
Chants, ruckus and adjourns: Parliament chaos
The Lok Sabha has been witnessing repeated adjournments, sloganeering and a continued impasse since last week, when Rahul Gandhi sought to quote excerpts from an unpublished book by former army chief General (retired) MM Naravane on India-China ties.
Amid constant disruptions, the Lok Sabha witnessed a historic event. For the first time in 22 years, the President’s speech was passed in the Lok Sabha without the prime minister’s reply to the debate.
Om Birla had alleged that he received credible information that many Congress MPs “might have reached the PM’s seat and caused some unexpected incidents” when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was originally scheduled to speak in the Lower House on Wednesday. Ultimately, the PM did not deliver his address, and on Thursday, the President’s speech was passed through a voice vote.
However, the Opposition has rubbished these allegations.
