NEW DELHI: Escalating its confrontation with the BJP-led NDA government, the Congress on Tuesday moved a no-confidence notice against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging repeated instances of blatantly partisan conduct during the ongoing Budget session, including the denial of speaking time to leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and the suspension of MPs.Congress’s no-confidence motion, signed by 118 opposition MPs, was moved for disallowing the leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking in the House, for not initiating action against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, for making unsubstantiated charges against women MPs of the Congress and for the suspension of eight opposition MPs.”Notice of a resolution for the removal of Om Birla from the office of Speaker Lok Sabha, in terms of the provisions of Article 94(c) of the Constitution of India, has been given because of the blatantly partisan manner in which he has been conducting the business of the Lok Sabha. On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have just not been allowed to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament,” the motion moved by Congress said.In a social media post on X, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said that the opposition has taken such a step in “extraordinary circumstances.””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,” Tagore said. “After many years, a no-confidence notice against the Speaker has been moved – an extraordinary step born out of extraordinary circumstances,” he added.The motion received the support of 118 MPs, including the support of Samajwadi Party and DMK. However, another INDIA bloc partner TMC has not yet declared its position.Why nowDuring the Budget session, Parliament witnessed major showdowns between the opposition and the ruling party. It began after Speaker Om Birla stopped Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from quoting from an article which referenced an unpublished memoir of former Army chief General MM Naravane. During the discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, the House descended into chaos after Rahul refused to move on and repeatedly tried to quote excerpts from the memoir on 2020 Galwan Vally clash with China.Additionally, Birla also suspended eight Congress MPs over repeated disruptions of the House.On February 4, Birla had also advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to deliver his much-anticipated speech, after he claimed to have received information that some Congress MPs could rush to the Prime Minister’s seat in the House and “resort to an unprecedented incident”.Rahul Gandhi, however, refuted Birla’s claims and maintained that PM Modi avoided attending the House because of the issues he was raising.“The issue began a few days ago when the Naravane book came up. The government did not want me to discuss it and therefore stalled the House,” Rahul said.“The fact is very clear, the Prime Minister was afraid to come to the House, not because of the members, but because of what I was saying. He is still afraid because he cannot face the truth,” he added.Claims and counterclaimsEarlier on Monday, a group of women MPs from the Congress also shot off a strongly worded letter to Om Birla, accusing him of making “false and defamatory allegations” against them.“We write this letter with deep anguish and a strong sense of constitutional responsibility. It is extremely unfortunate that you, as the Hon’ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha, have been forced by the ruling party to make false, baseless, and defamatory allegations against women Members of Parliament belonging to the Opposition,” the letter read.This was countered by a letter from the women parliamentarians of BJP to Birla which alleged that Congress MPs crossed parliamentary limits.The BJP MPs wrote to Speaker Birla alleging that Opposition women MPs “surrounded the Prime Minister’s seat” and later aggressively approached the Speaker’s chamber on February 4.They urged the Speaker to take “the strongest possible action” against the MPs involved in the alleged incident.Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju also shared a video of the stand-off that unfolded in Lok Sabha on February 4. Rijiju slammed the grand-old-party for ‘egging on’ its women MPs to block the alley where the Prime Minister would have walked into the House, saying that the BJP lawmakers displayed maturity and restraint, else this could have led the House into complete bedlam.In the video, two or three ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Giriraj Singh and other MPs, are seen pleading and persuading the women lawmakers to go back to their seats and refrain from such unparliamentary behaviour, but the latter remained unrelenting and stood firm with banners and posters.What is article 94(C)In the Constitution, Article 94(C) deals with the procedure of moving a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker.”A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House” the Constitution states.”Provided that no resolution for the purpose of clause (c) shall be moved unless at least fourteen days’ notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution,” it further states.How it worksAccording to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, any member of the House can seek the removal of the Speaker. Under chapter 18 of the rulebook, the member must submit a written notice, along with the full text of the resolution, to the secretary-general of the House.Once a notice is received, a motion seeking leave to move the resolution is entered in the List of Business in the name of the member who submitted the notice. The date for taking up this motion is fixed by the Chair — usually the Deputy Speaker, as the Speaker cannot preside over the House when a motion for his removal is taken up.The Chair then places the motion before the House and asks whether leave should be granted to take it up. After the motion is placed before the House, at least 50 members must rise in support of it. If this threshold is not met, the motion fails and the member who moved it is informed accordingly.If the motion is accepted, it is then put to a vote. The voting can be conducted through a voice vote, division of votes, or other prescribed means.Will the motion be accepted?Even after 118 opposition MPs signatures, it would still depend on the Deputy Speaker of the House on whether the motion will see the light of day.For a resolution to be admissible, it must meet specific conditions laid down in the rules. The resolution should be specific with respect to the charges, clearly stating the allegations without ambiguity.It must also be clearly and precisely expressed, leaving no scope for vague or loosely worded claims. Further, the resolution must not contain arguments, inferences, ironical expressions, imputations or defamatory statements, ensuring that it remains factual, restrained and confined strictly to the stated charges.Does the opposition have numbers?The motion appears more symbolic and a case of political posturing, as the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker requires an effective majority — a majority of the present strength of the House, excluding vacant seats. Even if the motion is moved, it appears to be an uphill battle for the opposition as it lacks the requisite numbers in the 543-member House. In the 18th Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA enjoys a comfortable majority with 293 seats. In contrast, the INDIA bloc holds 238 seats, falling short of the numbers required.However, if the motion is discussed in the House, it will give the opposition a chance to place its charges against Speaker Birla on record.Has it happened before?While rare, such motions have historically been used to question the moral authority of the Chair rather than to unseat it.This is not the first time the opposition has decided to move a no-confidence motion against the presiding officer of Parliament. Earlier in 2024, the opposition moved a similar motion against then Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.However, Deputy Chairman Harivansh dismissed the motion, terming it an act of impropriety that was severely flawed and drawn in haste to mar the reputation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.At least 60 opposition members had signed the notice seeking the removal of Vice-President Dhankhar from his post on December 10.History also records at least three instances since Independence when a no-confidence motion was moved to remove the Speaker. The first was against the first Lok Sabha Speaker, GV Mavalankar, in 1954, after MP Vigneshwar Misra alleged that the Speaker was not impartial.In 1966, opposition MPs moved a motion against Speaker Sardar Hukum Singh, with Madhu Limaye leading the charge and Deputy Speaker S V Krishnamoorthy Rao in the Chair.The third motion was moved on April 15, 1987, for the removal of Speaker Balram Jakhar by CPI(M) MP Somnath Chatterjee, with Deputy Speaker Thambi Durai presiding. This motion was axed by the House. Go to Source
