No-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, opposition appears weak in numbers… understand the complete mathematics

New Delhi:The second phase of the budget session of Parliament is going to start from today and it may start with the discussion on the no-confidence motion brought against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The opposition had given notice of this proposal in the first phase of the budget session itself, on which signatures of 118 MPs are said to be.

Initially, Trinamool Congress MPs did not sign this notice, but now the party has made it clear that it will support the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition against the Lok Sabha Speaker. Despite this, considering the current numbers game of Parliament, the path of the opposition is not considered easy.

What are the rules for bringing a no-confidence motion?

There are certain rules for bringing a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. For this, signatures of at least two MPs are required and 14 days’ notice has to be given before presenting the proposal. Also, it is necessary to have the support of at least 50 members in the House.

In this matter, three Congress MPs Mohammad Javed, Kodikunil Suresh and Mallu Ravi have given notice. Signatures of 118 opposition MPs are also said to be included in support of this proposal.

It has been alleged in the notice that the Leader of Opposition and other opposition leaders were not given an opportunity to speak in the House. Apart from this, eight opposition MPs were suspended for the entire budget session and baseless allegations were also made against opposition women MPs.

What will be the process after the notice is accepted?

If this notice is accepted, then time will be fixed for debate and this topic will be discussed in the Lok Sabha. During this period, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha will not sit on his chair during the debate.

According to the rules, the proceedings of the House are conducted by the Deputy Speaker, but at present the post of Deputy Speaker is vacant. In such a situation, the most senior MP included in the Chairman’s panel will conduct the proceedings. It is believed that in this situation Jagdambika Pal can take over the chair of the president.

When has such a proposal come in the history of Parliament?

This is not the first case of bringing a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker. For the first time in the history of Parliament, a no-confidence motion was brought against Lok Sabha Speaker GV Mavalankar in 1954. At that time, JB Kripalani was leading the opposition and the proposal was brought by Vigneshwar Mishra.

JB Kripalani separated from the Congress in 1951 and formed the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party, which was later merged into the Praja Socialist Party. However, this motion brought against Mavalankar was defeated by 364 votes against 489.

After this, in 1966, Madhu Limaye brought a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Hukum Singh, but it was not accepted due to lack of sufficient support.

In the year 1987 also, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee had presented a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar. Thambi Durai was the Vice President at that time and this proposal also ultimately could not be passed.

Such notice was also given in Rajya Sabha

In recent years, such a case had also come to light in Rajya Sabha. In December 2024, the opposition had given notice of no-confidence motion against Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

That proposal had signatures of 60 members of the opposition, but Deputy Chairman Harivansh had rejected it.

Does the opposition have enough numbers?

The biggest question is whether the opposition has enough numerical strength to remove the Lok Sabha Speaker from the post. For this, the support of simple majority i.e. 272 ​​MPs is necessary.

In the current Lok Sabha, 293 MPs are said to be supporting the government. This includes 240 MPs of BJP, 16 of JDU, 12 of TDP and MPs of other NDA parties.

Talking about the opposition, apart from 99 MPs of Congress, there are only 238 MPs including Samajwadi Party, DMK, Trinamool Congress and other parties. In such a situation, if the voting situation comes, then there is a possibility of a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. However, during the debate, the opposition can definitely attack the government sharply on this issue.