NEW DELHI: Opposition’s resolution for the removal of Speaker Om Birla was defeated in Lok Sabha with a voice vote on Wednesday following a two-day discussion that concluded with home minister Amit Shah’s fiery counterattack, which especially targeted Rahul Gandhi. Shah slammed the bid to put the chair’s “dignity” in the dock and asked opposition parties not to treat the House like a “mela” where anything goes, reports Kumar Rakesh.Birla is set to return to his seat on Thursday – he had decided not to chair its proceedings from Feb 10 when 120 opposition MPs submitted their notice for his removal for allegedly partisan conduct. The discussion was marked by a robust debate as both sides tried to push their narratives, with opposition members attacking the govt for allegedly undermining institutions and muzzling their voice, and the ruling alliance attributing the rare motion against the Speaker to the frustration of its opponents over their electoral losses and the sense of privilege harboured by Congress’s Gandhi family.
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The division of votes on the motion could not take place as opposition MPs were in the well demanding Shah’s apology over his use of an “unparliamentary” word. He urged the chair to expunge it if it was unparliamentary, but protests continued, forcing BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, to go for a voice vote. Shah said that the Speaker, as the custodian of the House, has the right to discipline unruly members. “Mic for those who do not follow rules should be cut off,” he said, asserting that the chair is entitled to delete unparliamentary words used by members and even remove MPs if they persist with conduct that is out of line with norms in place for decades.
