The Opposition Congress has moved a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of “blatantly partisan” conduct.
According to Congress sources, a total of 118 MPs signed the notice of the motion, which was filed under Rule 94C of Lok Sabha rules and procedures.
The Opposition's grievances include disallowing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, and failing to take action against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey for allegedly making unfounded charges against former prime ministers.
They also cited a statement by Speaker Birla in which he said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to enter the House to prevent any “unpleasant incident,” after receiving information that some Congress MPs might approach the PM’s seat and “resort to an unprecedented incident.”
The Opposition further highlighted the suspension of eight MPs for the entire session as another point of contention.
“At 1:14 pm today, we submitted a motion of no-confidence against the Speaker under Rule 94C,” Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said.
Sources told ANI that Speaker Birla has directed the House Secretary-General to examine the notice of the no-confidence motion and take appropriate action.
It is not yet clear which all parties have signed the motion. Earlier, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee had requested that Congress submit an appeal to the Speaker before moving a no-confidence motion. TMC has said it will sign the motion if the Speaker does not act on the Opposition’s appeal within two to three days.
