New Delhi, March 11 A move by the opposition to remove Om Birla as Speaker was defeated on Wednesday in the Lok Sabha after a heated debate, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissing Rahul Gandhi's claim that he was not allowed to speak in the House, stating that the Congress leader was frequently abroad during sessions and deliberately skipped discussions.
Opposition members rushed to the well of the House, protesting and raising slogans as the home minister concluded his speech at the end of the two-day debate on the resolution. They demanded an apology for his remarks, which they said were "offensive".
Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, urged the opposition to take their seats so that he could put the motion to a vote. Amidst the uproar, the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, after which the House was adjourned for the day.
Speaker Birla was not present in the House during the entire period of the debate.
Earlier, Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, had intervened in the debate, stating that he had been stopped from speaking in the Lok Sabha on multiple occasions and asserting that the House represents the entire country, not just one party.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "has been compromised", and that it was the first time a Leader of the Opposition had been prevented from speaking in the House.
Responding to the debate, the home minister criticized the opposition for bringing the motion to remove Birla, asserting that the House would be run according to its rules, not the rules of a party.
"We have never suppressed the voice of the opposition. The voice of the opposition was suppressed during the Emergency when leaders were put in jail. False propaganda is being spread that opposition leaders are not allowed to speak. Rahul Gandhi said he is not allowed to speak. But the fact is he doesn't want to speak in the Lok Sabha," Shah said.
The home minister shared Rahul Gandhi's attendance records and other statistics to refute allegations of bias made by opposition members against the Speaker.
According to Shah, Rahul Gandhi's attendance in the 17th Lok Sabha was 51 per cent, while the average was 66 per cent; in the 16th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 52 per cent, while the average was 80 per cent.
He said that in the 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress was allocated 157 hours and 55 minutes, while the party had just 52 members. In comparison, the BJP was given 349 hours and 8 minutes, while the BJP membership stood at 303.
"Thus, the Speaker has ensured that the Congress Party received six times more time than the BJP," he said.
Shah claimed that foreign trips were a major reason for Rahul Gandhi's relatively low attendance during parliamentary sessions.
"During the 2025 Winter session, Gandhi was on a visit to Germany. In the Budget session in 2025, he was on a visit to Vietnam; in the Budget session in 2023, he was on a visit to the UK; in the Budget session in 2018, he was on a visit to Singapore and Malaysia; in the Monsoon session in 2020, he was absent the entire session due to foreign travel. In the Budget session in 2015, he travelled abroad for approximately 60 days," he said.
The home minister said Gandhi did not participate in the discussion on the President's Address in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
"Gandhi did not participate in the discussion on the Union Budget during the 16th Lok Sabha, he did not participate in any discussions on government bills, he did not participate in the discussion on any finance bill in the 16th Lok Sabha except the 'Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Second Bill, 2015'," he said.
Shah said the speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition. He said it is not an ordinary occurrence as after nearly four decades, such a motion has been brought against the speaker.
He said it was unfortunate for Parliamentary politics that some opposition parties were questioning the integrity of the speaker.
Shah said the BJP has been in opposition for the longest period of time, but the party has never brought a no-confidence motion against the speaker.
"We can speak of our rights, but no one can violate the rules of the House. We may not agree with the speaker's ruling, but it is binding and cannot be doubted. When the BJP was in the opposition, it never brought a no-confidence motion against the speaker," he said.
"This is a regrettable event for both Parliamentary politics and the House. Because the speaker does not belong to any party, the speaker belongs to the House. The House will be run by its rules, not by the rules of a party," he said.
Shah said in India's parliamentary history, three times a no-confidence motion against the speaker of the Lok Sabha was introduced in the House, but neither the BJP nor the NDA has ever brought such a motion.
The home minister said it is highly regrettable and condemnable when the opposition questions the integrity of a decision by the speaker.
"This is a very unfortunate... To oppose the government, you are raising questions on the speaker, who is a symbol of the dignity of democracy," he said, hitting out at the opposition.
Responding to BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited parliamentary procedures to say that the Leader of Opposition should measure his words carefully, especially on issues of national security, Gandhi, during his interjection, said that his name was being raised during the debate multiple times and "vile things" were being said about him.
"The discussion here is about the democratic process and the role of the speaker. But multiple times, my name is being raised, vile things are being said about me. This House is the expression of the people's will. This House does not represent one party; it represents the whole country," the former Congress president said.
"Every time we get up to speak, we are stopped. The last time I spoke, I raised fundamental questions about the compromises made by our prime minister. Multiple times, I have been stopped from speaking. Just a few days ago, for the first time in India's history, the Leader of Opposition was not allowed to speak during a debate," Gandhi said.
The Congress leader said that the last time he spoke in Parliament, he raised the issue of "the prime minister being compromised".
"I raised the issue of Mr (M M) Naravane, I raised the issue of Epstein, I raised the issue of Adani, and I was silenced. These issues are fundamental to the people of India," he said.
"Our prime minister has been compromised; everybody knows the result of that," Gandhi said.