Congress Submits No-Confidence Motion Against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla; 118 MPs Sign Notice

New Delhi: After days of repeated adjournments and disruptions in the Lok Sabha, the Opposition on Tuesday formally submitted a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla, escalating its confrontation with the government and the Chair.

According to Congress sources, 118 Members of Parliament have signed the notice, which was submitted at 1.14 pm to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh under Rule 94C of the Rules and Procedures of the House. Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi, Mohammad Javed and K Suresh submitted the motion on behalf of the Opposition.

While the motion has the backing of parties such as the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), sources confirmed. However, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has not signed the motion yet. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said the party had advised the Congress to first submit a written appeal to the Speaker outlining the Opposition’s grievances.

The TMC leader stressed that while his party wants the House to function, Opposition MPs must also be allowed to speak, adding that if BJP MPs are given time, the same privilege should be extended to Opposition members.

Sources said the notice cites four specific instances to justify the move. These include the Opposition’s allegation that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. Rahul had attempted to cite former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s unpublished memoir while referring to the 2020 India-China standoff, which was disallowed by the Speaker.

The Opposition has also flagged the suspension of eight MPs, alleged “objectionable and personalised attacks” by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against former Prime Ministers, and a statement by Speaker Om Birla in which he said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House after receiving information that some Congress MPs might approach the PM’s seat and “resort to an unprecedented incident”.

On Tuesday, Rahul questioned claims by the publisher that the book had not been printed, saying General Naravane himself had promoted the book publicly. “Either Mr Naravane is lying or Penguin is lying. I believe Naravane ji over Penguin,” Gandhi said, adding that the contents of the book were “inconvenient for the Government of India and the Prime Minister.”

The BJP strongly objected, with MP Nishikant Dubey accusing the Congress of misleading Parliament and acting against national interest. He cited a statement from the publisher asserting that the book had not been released and urged the Speaker to take strict action against Rahul Gandhi.

Earlier, Congress sources had indicated that the party would move the no-confidence motion if Gandhi was not allowed to speak, but would hold back if the Speaker permitted him to do so. Despite lacking the numbers to carry the motion, the Opposition maintains that the step is meant to highlight what it calls the Speaker’s “partisan conduct”.

With the notice now formally submitted, Parliamentary proceedings are expected to remain disrupted in the coming days as the political confrontation intensifies.

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