Om Birla's "Rules" Reminder To Opposition Day After No-Trust Motion Defeated

Om Birla returned to the Speaker's chair in the Lok Sabha today, a day after a no-confidence motion brought against him by the Opposition was rejected. Addressing the House, Birla dismissed accusations of partiality, saying, "A few accused me of stopping some MPs from speaking in Parliament. But, I want to clarify that I always allow all MPs to speak, but under rules and regulations."

On Wednesday, Jagadambika Pal - who was presiding over the House at the time - announced the defeat of the motion amid loud protests and sloganeering. Pal had urged the Opposition to return to their seats for a formal division, but as the disruptions continued, the resolution was rejected by a voice vote.

"Let us conduct the proceedings of this Lok Sabha according to the rules. These regulations are the same for everyone, for the Opposition and the Government alike," said Om Birla today.

The notice for removal was submitted on February 10 by Congress' Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, invoking Article 94(c) of the Constitution. Following the move, Birla took a moral stand, deciding to recuse himself from House proceedings until the motion was resolved. While no rule bars a Speaker from chairing other business during such a period, Birla reportedly felt it was inappropriate to preside while his confidence was being questioned.

"I always tried to run this house in an unbiased manner and according to the rules of the house.  I immediately decided that I should not be part of the proceedings when the notice against me was served by opposition," he said while addressing the House today.

The notice for Birla's removal was submitted after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was prevented from speaking in the Lok Sabha when he wanted to quote excerpts from former Army chief General MM Naravane's book. The treasury benches had argued that the book had not been published, and the Speaker had not allowed Gandhi to continue.

The Opposition was also upset with the decision to suspend eight Opposition MPs for the remainder of the Budget Session, and allowing a BJP MP to quote from books while speaking against two former prime ministers from the Congress.

The notice also mentioned Birla's remarks on February 5, in which he had accused Opposition members of behaving in an unprecedented manner and said he had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House to avert a possible "unpleasant incident".

Defending the Speaker on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah described the no-confidence resolution as "unfortunate." He asserted that the Speaker serves as a neutral custodian of the House.

"According to the established history of this House, proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust," Shah said. "The Speaker represents both the ruling party and the Opposition. It is a blow to parliamentary politics that a resolution for his removal was even brought forward."