- Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi criticised Kiren Rijiju for frequently interrupting the Opposition in Lok Sabha
- A no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla accuses him of partisan behavior and silencing Rahul Gandhi
- Amit Shah agreed Rijiju interrupts often and called the Opposition irresponsible during the debate
During the debate on the no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi launched a scathing attack on BJP's Kiren Rijiju, saying he would be remembered as the Parliamentary Affairs Minister who interrupted the Opposition the most. Gogoi's jab drew a swift response, not from Rijiju, but from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Shah agreed with Gogoi that Rijiju interrupted the most, and then added that the country had never seen such an "irresponsible opposition" before.
The Lok Sabha is debating a no-confidence motion signed by 118 Opposition MPs. The motion accuses the Speaker of partisan behaviour and cites instances of him not allowing Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, to speak in the House. The resolution also flags the Speaker's recent remarks that women MPs from the Opposition were allegedly planning to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi physically.
"This resolution has been brought as a responsibility to protect the dignity of the House, not personally against Om Birla. "We stated that in February, when the LoP wanted to speak on the motion of thanks to the President's address, he was interrupted 20 times by the Speaker, members of the chairpersons' panel, and senior members of the treasury benches. He was interrupted in a premeditated manner. The Speaker did not allow the LoP to speak. The LoP was repeatedly interrupted while attempting to place a few critical issues mandatory to be known to the House and the people of the country," Gogoi said.
The Jorhat MP also referred to the chaos over Gandhi wanting to speak about former Army chief General MM Naravane's unpublished book. Amid protests by BJP MPs, the Speaker had denied the Congress leader permission to speak about the book. At this point, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju intervened and said that the debate is about the Speaker. If the opposition is talking of other issues, they should not interrupt when the treasury benches reply, Rijiju said.
Gogoi replied with a barb, "In future, when there will be research on parliamentary records and transcripts are looked at, statistics will tell that Kiren Rijiju was the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, who interrupted the Opposition the most."
The response came from Shah. The Home Minister said he was a Parliamentary Affairs Minister in the Gujarat Assembly, and interruptions are only necessary when someone doesn't adhere to the rules.
"I agree, Kiren Rijiju ji as Parliamentary Affairs Minister, has interrupted the most. But we have also never seen such an irresponsible Opposition," Shah said, drawing cheers from the treasury benches.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister later rose to put forward the government's stand in the debate. "When you look at Constitution, and the rules of the House, no one has challenged any decision of the Speaker. That day, I was upset for the fact that the Opposition MP said that 'I do not need permission from anyone to speak in Parliament', this is on record. 'This is my right to speak in Parliament', our Leader of Opposition said this. So I was thinking, there are many senior members in Congress, why did they not explain that in this House, PM, minister, LoP can be present but one needs permission from Speaker to speak," Rijiju said in the House.
"You cannot do this, and then you say your microphone is not on. Without permission, if you consider yourself to be above the Speaker, I do not have the cure for that," the minister said.
The motion to remove a Lok Sabha Speaker is passed only if more than 50 per cent of the House members support it. The Opposition clearly does not have the numbers on its side, but has moved the motion to score political points and for a wider messaging ahead of crucial assembly polls.
