The Lok Sabha on Wednesday rejected the opposition’s no-confidence motion seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla, with the resolution defeated by a voice vote amid loud sloganeering and protests in the House.
Following the vote, proceedings were adjourned for the day, with the House set to reconvene on tomorrow at 11 am.
The motion had been brought by opposition parties, accusing the Speaker of failing to ensure impartial functioning of the House, an allegation strongly rejected by the government during a heated debate.
The Lok Sabha will reconvene tomorrow, when Speaker Om Birla will resume the chair. Birla will also make a statement in the House on the conduct of opposition members during the proceedings.
AMIT SHAH DEFENDS SPEAKER, CALLS MOTION REGRETTABLE
Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on the opposition while responding to the debate, describing the resolution as a deeply regrettable step in parliamentary politics.
Shah said the Speaker serves as a neutral custodian of the House, representing both the ruling side and the opposition.
“According to the established history of this House, its proceedings are conducted based on mutual trust. The Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition. It is unfortunate for parliamentary politics that a resolution for the removal of the Speaker has come,” he said.
Shah said such motions against the Lok Sabha Speaker have been extremely rare in India’s parliamentary history, adding that the current resolution came nearly four decades after the last such attempt.
He also pointed out that the BJP had spent long years in opposition but had never moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker.
“When the BJP was in the opposition, it never brought a no-confidence motion against the Speaker,” he said.
‘HOUSE WILL RUN BY RULES, NOT PARTY WISHES’
During his address, Shah insisted that the functioning of Parliament must follow established procedures rather than political demands.
“The House will be run by its rules, not by the rules of a party,” he said.
He also said questioning the integrity of the Speaker amounted to casting doubt on the credibility of parliamentary institutions.
“To oppose the government, you are raising questions on the Speaker, who is a symbol of the dignity of democracy,” Shah told the House.
Shah added that the Speaker has the authority to expunge unparliamentary remarks and ensure that debates remain within the framework of parliamentary rules.
“This House is not some fair or festival. Here, one must proceed according to the rules. No one has the right to speak in a manner that the rules of the House do not permit, no matter who they are,” he said.
OPPOSITION ACCUSES SPEAKER OF BIAS
Opposition members, however, argued that the motion had been brought to raise concerns over what they described as shrinking space for dissent in Parliament.
RJD MP Abhay Kumar Sinha said opposition members often felt they were not receiving adequate protection from the chair.
“I have to say with regret that for some time now, the chair no longer represents the independence of the House but has become a symbol of the ruling party’s tyranny,” he said.
“This House even saw the black day when over 140 MPs were suspended in a day. Real democracy is the one in which even the poorest and weakest feel their voice can be heard,” Sinha added.
He said that whenever opposition MPs tried to speak in the House, the response from the chair was often a repeated “No, No, No”.
OPPOSITION CLAIMS DISRUPTION OF SPEECHES
JMM MP Vijay Kumar Hansdak said interruptions during opposition speeches had become routine in the House.
“When opposition MPs speak, they are disrupted, and that has become a tradition. Another tradition is that while MPs speak, the camera moves in another direction,” he said.
NCP SP MP Bajrang Manohar Sonwane also said the opposition was aware that the resolution would likely fail but wanted to use the debate to raise concerns about democratic rights within Parliament.
“Nobody is making any personal attack on Birla ji. We all know what will happen in voting, but we brought this no-confidence to highlight democratic rights that we have,” he said.
Using a metaphor, Sonwane said the functioning of the chair often appeared uneven.
“Like a table fan gives cooling only on one side when Birla ji looks to the right, he has a smile and when he looks to the other side, ‘No, No, No,’” he said while addressing the chair during the debate.
RARE MOVE IN PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY
Shah pointed out that motions seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker have been introduced only three times in India’s parliamentary history, and neither the BJP nor the NDA had ever moved such a motion.
He said that for 75 years, both Houses of Parliament had strengthened the foundations of India’s democracy, adding that the current resolution risked undermining that legacy.
“The House runs on mutual trust. For both the ruling side and the opposition, the Speaker serves as the custodian,” Shah said.
With the motion defeated by voice vote, the Lok Sabha adjourned for the day amid continued sloganeering by opposition members.
– Ends
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