New Delhi: The Lok Sabha negated the opposition’s resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla with a voice vote today.
Replying to the discussion in the House, Senior BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah said, it is unfortunate that the integrity of the Speaker has been questioned by the opposition. He said that, after nearly four decades, a no-confidence motion has been brought against the Lok Sabha Speaker and it is a regrettable event for both parliamentary politics and the House. He asserted that the Speaker belongs to the House rather than any political party. Mr. Shah said, BJP and NDA never brought a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as the party believes that the integrity of the Speaker is beyond doubt.
The Minister said, proceedings of the House are conducted based on mutual trust and rules. He said, Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition. He said, specific rules have been created by the Lok Sabha to guide the Speaker to conduct the sessions. He said, members are expected to speak and participate according to rules and procedures. He said, under the rules of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s decisions are considered final, but the opposition has cast doubts on the Speaker’s loyalty.
Mr. Shah said, today the world recognises the strength and prestige of the country’s democratic system. He said that when allegations are made against the custodian of the House, it raises questions about the country’s democratic process. Lauding the tenure of Speaker Om Birla, Mr. Shah said, the use of regional languages inside the House was increased significantly, and permission was granted to debate in nearly 14 languages. He said, the Budget Session witnessed 118 per cent productivity in the last year, and average productivity was 91 per cent in the 16th Lok Sabha, 91 per cent in the 17th, and 91 per cent in the 18th, despite so many obstacles, which is the highest in any Speaker’s tenure from Indira Gandhi’s time until now. He said, in the 17th Lok Sabha, the Congress Party was given 157 hours and 55 minutes time, while they had 52 members. In comparison, the BJP was given 349 hours and 8 minutes, while its membership was 303. He said, Speaker Om Birla allotted 6 times more time to Congress than to the BJP.
Amid the noisy scenes, the Home Minister said, NDA government has never tried to suppress the voice of the opposition. He accused that the voice of the opposition was suppressed in 1975, when the entire opposition was thrown into jail during the Emergency. He said, opposition does not follow the rules, but complain that they do not get chance to speak.
Speaking on the interim trade deal between India and USA, the Minister stressed that farmers’ interests will not be compromised during any trade deal. During the Home Minister’s speech, opposition parties’ MPs trooped into the well and raised slogans against the government.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, Ravi Shankar Prasad of BJP said, the opposition has brought this resolution to satisfy the ego of some leaders of opposition parties. He said, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi should be careful about his words, when he speaks abroad. Mr Prasad alleged that Mr Gandhi makes remarks against India’s Constitution, Parliament, and the Election Commission. He said, Leader of opposition is part of the House but the conduct of leader of opposition is equally responsible. Mr Prasad said that in the past 72 years, a debate on a no-confidence motion against the Speaker has taken place only twice.
Responding to Mr Prasad in the House, Mr. Gandhi accused that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions. He said, the House does not belong to one party but to the entire country.
K C Venugopal of Congress said, the resolution is related to the fundamental principle of democracy and to protect the parliamentary democracy in the country. He alleged that whenever the opposition member stands to speak, the mic was switched off. He said, Parliament is a forum to debate and discuss but the speaker does not give the opportunity to the opposition to raise the matter which is important for the country.
Anand Bhadauria of the Samajwadi Party said that the opposition parties have brought this resolution to protect the dignity of the Chair of the Lok Sabha. He said, the Speaker has given time to opposition members to speak, but at the same time, Mr Birla tried to suppress the voice of Leader of the Opposition in the House.
Anurag Singh Thakur of BJP said that during the discussion, most of the MPs praised Om Birla and acknowledged that he had allowed them to speak. He said that leaders of opposition parties, especially the Congress, behaved improperly with the Speaker when they went to his office. Mr Thakur however, said that the Speaker did not take any action about their behaviour. Mr. Thakur said that during the discussion in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi violated the rules. He alleged that Mr. Gandhi considers himself above the rules and the law. He added that the House functions on the established norms. Mr Thakur said, this resolution is not against the speaker but this is against the discipline, procedure and equality. JDS leader Mallesh Babu said that this resolution clearly indicates that it is political in nature. He expressed displeasure over the conduct of the protesting MPs in the House saying that throwing papers towards the Chair and levelling accusations against the Speaker is not good for decorum of the House.
Congress MP Dr Mohammad Jawed had moved the resolution yesterday. He has alleged that Speaker Om Birla disallowed the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and other opposition leaders from putting forth their views in the House and made unwarranted allegations against women MPs of the Opposition. Mr Jawed also alleged that Mr Birla failed to maintain the impartiality needed to command the confidence of all sections of the House.
After rejecting the resolution seeking removal of Speaker Om Birla, the House was adjourned for the day to meet again at 11 AM tomorrow
