New Delhi, March 10 – The ruling NDA strongly defended Speaker Om Birla in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, asserting that the resolution to remove him was brought only "to create sensational headlines," while the opposition accused him of partisanship, claiming he made "baseless" allegations against certain female MPs and did not allow Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to express his views on "critical issues."
Participating in the debate on the resolution, several opposition MPs said Birla is a "gentleman" and has good relations with members, but stressed that he should conduct House proceedings "fairly" without succumbing to "pressure" from the government, given their concerns about his decisions regarding the suspension of their colleagues.
However, members of the treasury bench insisted that Birla was impartial and that the opposition MPs faced action due to their improper conduct.
Although the Constitution allows the Speaker to be present in the House to defend himself or herself and to vote, Birla preferred to stay away from Tuesday's proceedings. The debate is likely to conclude on Wednesday with Union Home Minister Amit Shah's response to the resolution.
Initiating the debate, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the opposition was compelled to bring a resolution for Birla's removal as Speaker of the Lok Sabha to "save the Constitution" and the "dignity of the House."
"There was an expectation that the chair would be neutral. But research of uncorrected versions would show the number of times the Leader of Opposition (LoP) was interrupted. While the LoP was on his feet, another member was called upon (to speak)," Gogoi said and accused Birla of being partisan.
Gogoi cited remarks by the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, that the Speaker represents the dignity of the House and becomes the symbol of the nation's freedom and liberty. "Where is the freedom of speech now?" he said.
He said all members have good relations with Birla on a personal level, and that is why the opposition members are saddened that they had to bring the resolution.
"But it is our responsibility to protect the dignity of the House and save the Constitution. It is to protect the faith of the people in democracy," he added.
Intervening in the debate, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju lashed out at the Congress for bringing the no-confidence motion, saying Birla always remained impartial and gave more opportunities to opposition members to express their views in the House.
Rijiju accused the Congress of attacking constitutional institutions since 2014, when it was ousted from power, and said this time the target is the post of Speaker which is "akin to an attack on democracy itself."
During his hour-long intervention, the Minister strongly defended Birla's actions and quoted Nehru and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to reiterate that the decision of the speaker is final on matters in the Lok Sabha and should be accepted by all.
The minister claimed that 50 opposition members told him personally that they were not happy with the resolution against Birla but had to support it because of political compulsion.
Rijiju also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, claiming he has shown immaturity in his conduct, often skipping the proceedings to go abroad and leaving after his speech, disregarding the rules of the House. The minister went on to say that Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could be a better Leader of Opposition than Rahul Gandhi.
Priyanka Gandhi, while responding to certain remarks of Rijiju, took a swipe at the Union minister for quoting Nehru, saying those who criticise India's first prime minister day and night are now citing his remarks.
Rijiju cited Nehru's remarks during the debate in 1954 on the resolution to remove then Speaker G V Mavalankar.
"He (Rijiju) mentioned that I was laughing. I wanted to clear that I was laughing because the person they keep criticising day and night, that Nehru ji, they used a quote of Nehru ji for their own argument," Priyanka said.
"They have suddenly started respecting Nehruji and that he strengthened democracy and gave such a speech," Priyanka said.
DMK leader T R Baalu praised Birla as a "gentleman" but lamented his "harsh" steps against the opposition, prompting the ruling alliance to claim that the speaker had acted only to check their "anarchic" behaviour.
Baalu said he has great personal regard for the speaker but wants him to take corrective steps in his conduct.
TDP member Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu praised Birla for the way he has been conducting the House ever since he first became the speaker in 2019, especially during the COVID pandemic.
He said Birla has given maximum time to the new members and productivity in the Lok Sabha was highest under him.
Devarayalu claimed that the no-confidence motion was brought "not to succeed but to create spectacular headlines."
JD-U leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the no-confidence motion was nothing but an attempt to keep the speaker under pressure.
Singh said when the custodian of the House tries to control certain behaviours of some members, including ruling party members and ministers, all accept it.
Shiv Sena (UBT) member Arvind Sawant said Birla is a "gentleman" and they respect him, but there is "pressure" on him to act against the opposition.
"Please introspect why we had to bring the no-confidence motion. The House can't function on anyone's whims. We respect his authority. But he should not conduct himself under pressure and compromise independence," he said.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra described as "divine karma" that she was supporting a motion to remove Birla as the speaker in Lok Sabha from where, she alleged, she was "wrongly" expelled in 2023.
She said the current speaker has set "less than graceful benchmarks" while presiding over the House.
Moitra noted that on the past three occasions when a resolution to remove the speaker came up before the House, there were deputy speakers to preside but this time there was none.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying the Leader of Opposition will be interrupted not 20 but 200 times while speaking in the House if he peddles "anti-India" agenda.
Shinde expressed his support for Birla and slammed the opposition's behaviour.