Opposition ditches Om Birla trust vote, targets Centre over Iran, oil shock

The Lok Sabha on Monday could not take up a notice seeking to move a resolution to remove Speaker Om Birla from office amid disruptions as opposition members demanded a debate on the West Asia situation. The opposition's resolution is now likely to be taken up on Tuesday, at noon, soon after the Question Hour. While the Constitution gives the Speaker the right to defend himself or herself in the House, it is learnt that Union Home Minister Amit Shah would respond to the debate on the resolution against Birla. The opposition has alleged that Birla acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner while conducting the proceedings of the House. The government, meanwhile, is unlikely to accede to the opposition's demand for a discussion in Parliament on the present crisis in West Asia as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already briefed both the Houses on Monday.

In the Lok Sabha, the government and the Chair accused the opposition of holding the House proceedings "hostage" to its demands. The House was adjourned for the day shortly after it reassembled at 3 pm, following an earlier adjournment due to relentless protests by opposition members. As proceedings resumed, opposition MPs continued raising slogans. Jagadambika Pal, who was chairing the proceedings, urged them to maintain decorum and allow the House to take up the resolution against Birla. Pal reminded the opposition that the no-confidence resolution against the Speaker was already on the House agenda, and their adjournment notice seeking debate on the West Asia crisis could not be taken up. He accused the opposition of wasting taxpayers' money -- about Rs 9 crore per day -- by holding the House "hostage" to its demands. Pal described the opposition behaviour as "immature and irresponsible". He said the government and the Chair were willing to take up the resolution, but the opposition was creating obstacles, even as Birla was not presiding over the House until the no-confidence motion against him was settled.

Around 12 noon, as soon as Jaishankar rose to make a statement in the lower house on the "situation in West Asia", opposition members started raising slogans against the government and demanded a full-fledged discussion on the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Pal, chairing the proceedings, said the questions being raised by the opposition through their placards were being elaborately answered by the government. He said that while a resolution to remove Birla as the Lok Sabha Speaker is already on the agenda, the Opposition was pushing for a notice for adjournment of the proceedings to discuss West Asia.

Pal wondered how the opposition wanted to discuss the two issues on the same day. After Jaishankar completed his statement, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition of not following the ethics of the House. Rijiju said their notice to remove Birla from office has already been accepted, and the government is willing to discuss it, but the opposition was disrupting the proceedings. Outside the House, opposition MPs, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, staged a protest demanding a discussion on the West Asia conflict and slamming the government for its "silence" on critical issues related to it. Sources said the government is keen to have the discussion on the no-confidence motion against Birla as early as possible. Birla has not been chairing the House ever since a notice was given by 118 opposition MPs on the motion in the first part of the Budget session.

The motion will be moved by three Congress members -- Mohamed Jawed, K Suresh and Mallu Ravi. The proposed motion questioned the conduct of the Speaker in disallowing the leader of the opposition and other opposition leaders to speak and in "making unwarranted allegations against women MPs belonging to the Opposition". It also referred to the suspension of opposition MPs for an entire session for raising issues of "public concern and not rebuking ruling party members for making wholly objectionable and derogatory remarks against former PMs". The opposition alleged that Birla "openly espouses the version of the ruling party on all controversial matters" and that all these acts constitute "a serious danger to the proper functioning of this House and ventilating effectively the felt concerns and grievances of the people, and therefore resolves that he be removed from his office".

Birla can defend himself and vote on the resolution, but cannot chair proceedings when the matter is being discussed. Though rules are silent, he may sit in prominent rows of the treasury benches. Since he does not have a "division number" like other members, he will not be able to use the automated voting system if the resolution comes up for a vote. He will have to use a slip to register his vote. This is not the first time that a no-confidence motion against the Chair has been moved by the opposition. In 2024, the opposition moved a similar motion against the then Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar. History also records at least three instances since Independence when a no-confidence motion was moved against the Speaker. The first was in 1954 against the first Lok Sabha Speaker, G V Mavalankar, after MP Vigneshwar Misra alleged that he was not impartial.