New Delhi, February 10 – Opposition parties on Tuesday initiated the process to remove Om Birla as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House, prompting him to step aside until the matter is resolved.
Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, along with Chief Whip K. Suresh and Whip Mohamed Jawed, submitted a notice under Article 94C of the Constitution to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and DMK.
The opposition also accused the Speaker of making false claims against Congress members, particularly regarding some "unforeseen actions" in the Lok Sabha, and of requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.
Lok Sabha secretariat officials said that Om Birla, upholding the highest standards of morality, has decided not to preside over the proceedings until the no-confidence motion against him is settled.
The officials said that the no-confidence motion against the Speaker is likely to be taken up on March 9, when the House reassembles after a recess to examine budgetary proposals.
Article 94C of the Constitution deals with the provisions for the removal of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Article 96 of the Constitution gives the Speaker the opportunity to defend himself or herself in the House.
The Speaker can vote when a motion for his removal is moved in the House. However, he cannot vote in case of a tie.
The Lok Sabha functioned smoothly on Tuesday after a week of disruptions. The House discussed the General Budget, with the proceedings being conducted by a panel of chairpersons.
Opposition leaders said that the notice to move the no-confidence motion was signed by at least 118 MPs, including those from the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, and RJD. Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP have also expressed support for the notice against the Speaker, but their MPs could not sign it.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is not a signatory to the notice. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has also not signed the notice, sources said.
The notice was submitted soon after 1 pm, after opposition members held a final meeting with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, but their concerns remained unresolved.
"We, the undersigned, hereby give notice of a resolution for the removal of Shri Om Birla from the office of Speaker, Lok Sabha, in terms of the provisions of Article 94(c) of the Constitution of India, due to his blatantly partisan conduct of the Lok Sabha," the notice stated.
The BJP criticized the opposition for submitting the notice to remove Birla from office.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said that it is time for India to "impeach" Rahul Gandhi and the Congress from politics.
"Those who have been impeached of their consciousness are the ones who want to impeach all the constitutional posts of India," Patra told reporters when asked about the opposition's move.
Article 96 of the Constitution bars a Speaker or Deputy Speaker from presiding over the House while a resolution for his removal is under consideration.
Three Lok Sabha Speakers – G.V. Mavlankar (1954), Hukam Singh (1966), and Balram Jakhar (1987) – had faced no-confidence motions in the past, which were rejected.
On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have been denied the opportunity to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament, the notice said.
The notice stated that on February 2, Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to complete his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. This is not an isolated incident, it claimed. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is almost invariably not allowed to speak, it claimed.
On February 3, eight opposition MPs were "arbitrarily suspended" for the entire Budget session and are being penalised merely for exercising their democratic rights, the notice said.
On February 4, a BJP MP was permitted to make "wholly objectionable and personalized attacks" on two former prime ministers without being reprimanded, it said, in apparent reference to Nishikant Dubey's remarks.
"Despite our request, no action has been taken against this particular MP, who is a habitual offender," they said.
The notice also referred to Birla's remarks that he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Modi's seat and carry out "some unforeseen act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.
The BJP also released a video of the happenings inside the Lok Sabha on February 4, when women MPs of the Congress had surrounded the prime minister's seat, raising slogans and carrying banners on the issue of former Army chief M.M. Naravane's unpublished book.
