New Delhi, March 11 Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, stated on Wednesday that the Congress party was "completely exposed" during the debate on an opposition resolution to remove Om Birla as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, as the party "ran away" from voting on the no-confidence motion in the Lower House.
Rijiju also claimed that he had repeatedly urged the Congress not to bring the no-confidence motion, but it had ignored the advice.
"But when it came to standing by the motion, they (Congress) chose to run away. They were scared of voting. Such conduct shows a complete lack of seriousness towards Parliament," Rijiju told reporters after the motion was defeated in the Lok Sabha by a voice vote.
The minister also claimed that even some of the allies of the Congress were not happy with the conduct of the principal opposition party.
"The BJP and its allies were fully prepared for the voting. But the Congress proved to be a 'fugitive' party," he said.
The opposition's move to remove Birla as Speaker was defeated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after a heated debate, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissing Rahul Gandhi's contention that he was not allowed to speak in the House.
Shah claimed that the Congress leader frequently remained out of the country during Parliament sessions and skipped discussions willfully as he "does not want to speak".
The opposition members rushed to the Well of the House, protesting and raising slogans as the home minister was about to conclude his speech at the end of the two-day-long debate on the resolution.
They also demanded an apology for certain remarks by Shah, which they termed "offensive".
Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair, urged the opposition MPs to take their seats so that he could put the motion to a vote.
Amid the din, the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, following which Pal adjourned the House for the day.
Speaker Birla was not present in the House during the entire period of the debate.