New Delhi: Opposition parties on Monday decided to move a notice for a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of running the House in a partisan manner and curbing the voices of opposition members. The decision was taken during a meeting of opposition leaders held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Confirming the move, senior Left Front MP NK Premchandran said the decision was prompted by the Speaker’s refusal to allow Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak in the House. He alleged that the Speaker also made objectionable remarks directed at women members of the opposition and ordered the suspension of eight MPs, calling the actions high-handed and unacceptable. Premchandran said opposition parties were united on the issue and would formally move the motion.
Congress MP KC Venugopal echoed similar concerns, stating that the Lok Sabha was being conducted as if it were an extension of the ruling government rather than an independent parliamentary institution. He said such functioning undermines democratic norms and cannot be accepted by the opposition.
The Lok Sabha has witnessed repeated disruptions over the past several days following Rahul Gandhi being stopped from making references to an unpublished book related to the 2020 India-China military standoff at the Line of Actual Control in Galwan. The Speaker had ruled that Gandhi could not quote from an unpublished work, a decision that further escalated tensions between the treasury benches and the opposition.
This is not the first time the opposition has attempted such a move. In December 2024, a similar no-confidence motion was brought against former Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. That motion was rejected by the Deputy Chairman on technical grounds, citing the absence of the mandatory 14-day notice and errors in spelling the Chairman’s name.
While the opposition lacks the numerical strength in the Lok Sabha to push the motion through, leaders said the move would be symbolic and reflect their collective protest against the Speaker’s conduct and the manner in which parliamentary proceedings are being handled.
The controversy intensified further after Speaker Om Birla said on Friday that he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to enter the Lok Sabha for his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Presidential address on January 28. According to the Speaker, the decision was taken amid concerns that an untoward situation could arise after women opposition MPs positioned themselves around the Prime Minister’s seat.
As a result, the Prime Minister could not reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha, and the motion was passed without his response. He later addressed the debate the following day in the Rajya Sabha, even as the standoff in the Lower House continued.
