New Delhi: Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice to move a resolution for the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner while conducting the proceedings of the House and of abusing a constitutional office by making what they termed “blatantly false” allegations against Congress Members of Parliament.
The notice was submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Chief Whip K. Suresh, and party whip Mohamed Jawed on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Trinamool Congress MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not part of the move.
Sources said around 120 MPs from parties such as the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) had already signed the notice seeking to move the resolution.
“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 stated, according to sources.
The opposition alleged that leaders of opposition parties have repeatedly not been allowed to speak in the House, violating their basic democratic rights. The notice cited the February 2 incident in which Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not permitted to complete his speech during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, claiming this was not an isolated case. It further alleged that the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was “almost invariably” denied the opportunity to speak.
The notice also referred to the suspension of eight opposition MPs on February 3 for the entire Budget session, describing the action as “arbitrary” and asserting that the MPs were being penalised merely for exercising their democratic rights.
Additionally, the opposition flagged an incident on February 4 in which a BJP MP was allowed to make what it described as “wholly objectionable and personalised attacks” on two former prime ministers without being reprimanded even once for violating parliamentary norms and conventions. The notice made an apparent reference to remarks by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, alleging that despite repeated requests, no action had been taken against him, calling him a “habitual offender”.
The notice also criticised Speaker Birla’s remarks that he had “concrete information” suggesting that several Congress MPs might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat and carry out an “unexpected act”, following which he had requested the Prime Minister not to come to the House to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
“These remarks cast blatantly false allegations against the members of the Indian National Congress and are derogatory in nature,” the notice said. It added that the Speaker, who is expected to be the custodian of parliamentary rules and decorum, had chosen the floor of the House to make such statements, which the opposition described as an abuse of the constitutional office.
Sources said Speaker Om Birla has directed Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh to examine the notice and take appropriate action. The matter will be examined and processed in accordance with the rules.
With PTI inputs