Om Birla decided on moral grounds that he will not attend the proceedings till disposal of notice

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has decided not to occupy the Speaker’s chair until the no-confidence motion moved against him is discussed and disposed of in the House, sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Wednesday. According to sources, the Speaker has taken what is being described as a moral position to convey a message to the opposition that any notice expressing lack of confidence in the Chair should be addressed and concluded without delay.

The decision, they said, reflects his view that once a no-confidence motion has been admitted against the office of the Speaker, it is appropriate for the House to settle the matter formally. Sources added that Birla is unlikely to reconsider his stand even if requested by either the government or the opposition. He is understood to have conveyed his sentiments clearly to leaders across party lines, including opposition members who met him on Tuesday.

Earlier, Opposition parties on Tuesday submitted a notice for moving a resolution to remove Om Birla from the office of Lok Sabha speaker, alleging that he had acted in a “blatantly partisan” manner in conducting the business of the House and abused the constitutional office by making “blatantly false” allegations against Congress MPs. Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK. The TMC MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not a party to it.

About 120 MPs of parties such as the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) had already signed a notice for moving the resolution, the sources said. “We, the undersigned, hereby give notice of a resolution for the removal of Shri Om Birla from the office of Speaker Lok Sabha, in terms of the provisions of Article 94(c) of the Constitution of India, because of the blatantly partisan manner in which he has been conducting the business of the Lok Sabha,” the notice said, according to sources. On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have just not been allowed to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament, the notice said. The notice also cited that on February 2, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, was not allowed to complete his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. This is not an isolated instance. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is almost invariably not allowed to speak, it claimed. On February 3, eight opposition MPs were “arbitrarily suspended” for the entire Budget session and are being penalised merely for exercising their democratic rights, the notice said.

On February 4, a MP from the BJP was permitted to make wholly objectionable and personalised attacks on two former prime ministers without being reprimanded even once for disregarding established conventions and norms of propriety, it said, in an apparent reference to Nishikant Dubey's remarks. “In spite of our request, no action has been taken against this particular MP, who is a habitual offender,” they said. The notice also referred to Birla's remarks that he had "concrete information" that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's seat and carry out "some unexpected act" as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address. “The aforementioned remarks cast blatantly false allegations against the members of the Indian National Congress and are derogatory in nature. The Speaker, who is required to be the custodian of the Rules of Procedure and the norms of parliamentary decorum, chose the floor of the House to make such statements, which is indicative of an abuse of this constitutional office,” the notice said. Birla directed Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh to examine the notice served by the opposition and take appropriate action, sources said, adding it will be examined and processed as per rules.