Struggle in Parliament: Congress gave notice of no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla, Rahul Gandhi did not sign

New Delhi. Another major turning point has come in the history of Indian parliamentary democracy. Opposition party Congress, opening a front against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, has given notice of ‘No-Confidence Motion’ against him. Congress has submitted this notice to the Lok Sabha General Secretary, which is signed by 118 MPs. Interestingly, this proposal does not have the signature of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, behind which a special diplomatic reason is being said.

Why did Rahul Gandhi not sign?

The notice of no-confidence motion has signatures of senior Congress leaders, but due to Rahul Gandhi’s absence of signature, the discussions are intense. According to Congress sources, this decision has been taken keeping in mind the dignity of parliamentary democracy. The party believes that it is not morally right for the Leader of Opposition (LoP) to sign the petition to remove the Lok Sabha Speaker. Congress has presented this proposal under Rule 94C. The Lok Sabha Secretariat has also confirmed that they have received the notice and it is now being assessed as per the rules.

Kiren Rijiju’s counterattack: ‘Opposition does not have data’

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has given a sharp reaction to this step of the opposition. He said that this proposal of the opposition does not make any difference to the government because they do not have the necessary numerical strength. Accusing the opposition of insulting the post of Speaker, Rijiju said that the opposition members have behaved indecent by climbing on the table of officials. He made it clear that the numerical strength in the House is in favor of the NDA, hence this proposal will not survive.

After all, why did the opposition take this step?

The main reason for the opposition’s displeasure is said to be that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak during the discussion on the President’s address. Furthermore, opposition parties have alleged that an unfair situation was created against women MPs in the House. Opposition alliance ‘INDIA’ says that the Speaker is giving arbitrary freedom to the ruling party and the voice of the opposition is being suppressed. In the meeting held in Mallikarjun Kharge’s room this morning, many parties including TMC, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (Sharad Pawar) had agreed to this.

Such opportunities have come only 3 times in history so far

This is the fourth time in the history of the Indian Parliament that a no-confidence motion has been brought against the Speaker.

• 1954: For the first time G.V. A motion came against Mavalankar, which was rejected.
• 1966: Madhu Limaye brought a motion against Hukam Singh, but could not garner the support of 50 members.
• 1987: Somnath Chatterjee gave notice against Balram Jakhar, which was rejected by the House. According to Article 94 of the Constitution, 14 days’ notice and majority of the House are required to remove the Speaker.