Listen To This Post

Citing Article 94(c) of the Constitution, the notice alleges that the Speaker has consistently conducted the business of the House in a partisan manner. “On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have not been allowed to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament,” the notice stated.

New Delhi: In an unprecedented escalation of parliamentary confrontation, Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing him of acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner and abusing the constitutional authority of his office.

The notice was submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh, and whip Mohamed Jawed, on behalf of several Opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress, the Samajwadi Party, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. However, Trinamool Congress MPs did not sign the notice and were not part of the move.

Opposition leaders said the decision followed consultations within the INDIA bloc and claimed that the notice carries the signatures of 100 Members of Parliament. They asserted that the proposed resolution has the backing of several parties, including the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the DMK, the Left parties, the RJD, the Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP (SP).

Citing Article 94(c) of the Constitution, the notice alleges that the Speaker has consistently conducted the business of the House in a partisan manner. “On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have not been allowed to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament,” the notice stated.

The Opposition specifically referred to the February 2 incident during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, when Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was allegedly not allowed to complete his speech. The notice claimed this was not an isolated case and that the Leader of the Opposition is “almost invariably” denied adequate opportunity to speak in the Lok Sabha.

It also flagged the February 3 suspension of eight Opposition MPs for the remainder of the Budget session, terming the action “arbitrary” and punitive, aimed at penalising members merely for exercising their democratic rights.

The notice further took strong exception to remarks made by the Speaker, in which he claimed to have “concrete information” suggesting that some Congress MPs might move towards Narendra Modi’s seat and carry out “some unexpected act,” prompting him to request the Prime Minister not to come to the House to reply to the debate.

“These remarks cast blatantly false and derogatory allegations against members of the Indian National Congress,” the notice said, adding that the Speaker, as custodian of parliamentary rules and decorum, had misused the floor of the House to make such statements—an act indicative of abuse of a constitutional office.

According to Congress leaders, the decision to move the notice was finalised at a meeting held earlier on Monday at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence. The meeting reviewed recent parliamentary developments and what the Opposition described as a pattern of selective interventions by the Chair that consistently favoured the ruling side.

The Opposition further alleged that during the Motion of Thanks debate, established parliamentary norms were violated, with the Chair denying the Leader of the Opposition a right of reply while allowing members from the Treasury benches extended speaking time.