New Delhi, March 10 Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra described on Tuesday that she was supporting a motion to remove Om Birla as Speaker in the Lok Sabha, from where she was "illegally" expelled in 2023, as "divine karma."
Participating in the debate on the opposition's resolution seeking Birla's removal from office, she also said the current Speaker has set "unacceptable standards" while presiding over the House.
She said that in the past three occasions when a resolution to remove the Speaker came up before the House, there were Deputy Speakers to preside over the House.
However, there is no Deputy Speaker for years, and a panel of presiding officers were running the House during the crucial issue on Tuesday.
Moitra alleged that the current Speaker has abused a rule that allows the Speaker to suspend MPs without a formal resolution in case of grave misconduct, which is the "very opposite of democracy."
"This is exactly what democracy should not be. In December 2023, Birla ordered the largest mass suspension in the history of the Indian Parliament, suspending 100 opposition MPs."
"This one episode alone accounted for over 40 per cent of all Lok Sabha suspensions since 2004," she claimed.