Opposition parties on Monday announced their decision to bring a motion of no confidence against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The move came after a meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, where leaders expressed anger over the Speaker’s handling of parliamentary proceedings.
Senior Left MP NK Premchandran confirmed the decision, stating that Speaker Birla prevented Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking in the House. He also alleged that the Speaker made derogatory remarks about women members and suspended eight opposition MPs. “This is high-handedness, and we are united against this. We will move a motion of no confidence,” Premchandran said.
Congress MP KC Venugopal added that the House was being run like a preserve of the government, which was unacceptable.
The Lok Sabha has remained disrupted for days since Gandhi was stopped from quoting an unpublished book on the 2020 Galwan clash between India and China. The Speaker ruled that Gandhi could not cite the unpublished work.
Opposition leaders said the motion, though symbolic given their lack of numbers in the House, reflects their protest against the Speaker’s conduct. They recalled a similar attempt in December 2024 against Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, which was rejected due to procedural lapses.
The controversy escalated after Speaker Birla revealed he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the Lok Sabha session on January 28, citing security concerns over opposition women MPs positioning themselves near the PM’s seat. Modi eventually replied to the debate a day later in the Rajya Sabha.
