New Delhi, March 10 – Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, responding to the no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, stated that the latter enjoys tremendous “goodwill and support” across party lines, to such an extent that many opposition members are dismissive of the motion against him but are compelled to support it due to “political compulsions”.
“About 50 MPs from the opposition have met me and confided that they are against this motion, but due to their political compulsions, they are supporting it,” Rijiju told the House.
Further criticizing the opposition for bringing the motion to remove Om Birla, Rijiju informed the House about key milestones and transformations achieved during his tenure, crediting him for eliminating paper clutter and transforming the House into a digital Sansad (Parliament).
“Unprecedented reforms have taken place during Om Birla’s tenure, new members have been given the maximum opportunity to speak in the House, and urgent matters of public interest have been raised the maximum number of times,” he said.
He further stated that the transition to a paperless parliament, making it digital, is Om Birla's contribution, and lawmakers will always be grateful to him for enriching the House's legacy.
Calling out the duplicity of the Congress-led opposition, he said that the House productivity has increased, opposition members have been given more opportunities to ask supplementary questions, but instead of being grateful to him, they have joined hands to seek his ouster.
The Parliamentary Affairs minister, admitting that he himself was impressed by Om Birla’s conduct of the House proceedings, said that he and many other ruling lawmakers take pride in serving the Parliament during this period.
He also accused the opposition of harbouring hatred against the Speaker and bringing the motion against him as part of its “evil” strategy to malign the constitutional bodies.