New Delhi: In another Government vs Opposition showdown in the Parliament, the Congress on Tuesday submitted ano-confidence motionnotice against the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging him of “blatant partisan” conduct and not allowing members of the Opposition to speak in the chamber, especially after the Rahul Gandhi incident when the Leader of Opposition (LoP) wanted to quote from a memoir from former Army Chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished book 'Four Stars of Destiny'.
Speaking on the development, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that they have submitted a motion for a no-confidence motion against the Speaker under Rule 94C rules and procedures.
The Opposition MPs alleged "blatantly partisan" conduct and that leaders of opposition parties were not allowed to speak, according to sources.
Sources saidthe notice of motion of no-confidence cited four incidents against the Speaker, including the Opposition's allegation that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of thanks to the President's Address.
They added that the Opposition MPs also flagged the suspension of eight MPs, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's "objectionable and personalised attacks" against former Prime Ministers and Speaker Om Birla's statement, where he said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to prevent any unpleasant incident, after receiving information that some Congress MPs could come to the PM's seat and "resort to an unprecedented incident".
Congress member and chief whip K Suresh submitted the notice to the Lok Sabha secretariat on behalf of several opposition parties, including his party, Samajwadi Party, and DMK. TMC MPs, however, did not sign the notice.
According to the current strength of the Lok Sabha — the 18th Lok Sabha — an effective majority would mean that the Opposition will have to manage at least 272 out of 543 members to be able to pass the no-confidence motion.
But if we look at the numbers, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a current House strength of 293 members, while the Opposition is at 238. Now, looking at the current numbers, it is highly unlikely that the Opposition will be able to get through a no-confidence motion.
While 118 Opposition MPs have signed the notice, sources have said thatRahul Gandhi, did not sign the notice of no-confidence motion, as it is not proper for the LoP to sign a petition for the removal of the Speaker in a parliamentary democracy.
The motion had the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Sources earlier said the party had clarified that it has enough MPs to submit a no-confidence motion notice. "Even if one or two parties do not support it, Congress intends to move the motion within the constitutional timeframe."
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