As more Opposition voices spoke on the possibility of a motion being moved to express no confidence in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, fresh reports indicate that Congress MPs have already signed the proposal.
News agency ANI reported that apart from the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have also decided to support the no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC), a key member of the Opposition, has so far not announced its position on the matter.
Congress’s floor managers are said to be holding talks with representatives of other opposition parties as well, to seek their support for the motion.
The report said the Congress party has indicated that it has enough MPs to submit the notice on a no-confidence motion. The Congress has decided to move the motion within the constitutional timeframe, even if some opposition parties back out from extending support.
The news about the Congress-led Opposition planning to move the no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker has come after it was alleged that LoP Rahul Gandhi is deliberately not being allowed to speak in the Lower House.
Rahul Gandhi was not permitted to speak in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address after he raised the matter of the 2020 India-China standoff in reference to the ‘unpublished’ memoir of former Army Chief General MM Naravane.
Several Congress MPs have spoken out against the Lok Sabha Speaker, who also said in the House that Congress MPs, including women, had planned to physically attack PM Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha last Wednesday evening when he was scheduled to reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks. Birla said he had himself asked the PM not to come to the House, fearing a mishap.
Congress MP KC Venugopal today said the Lok Sabha was not functioning in a desired manner, alleging that the opposition is being sidelined and not allowed to raise its voice on important issues.
“As per the Parliamentary rules, the Leader of the Opposition is a shadow Prime Minister. But here, the LoP is not being allowed to speak in the House. The government can say anything and attack anyone. The Speaker is himself making allegations against the Congress women MPs, but there is no space for the opposition in this House at all and they are not even allowed… This kind of attitude against the opposition never happened before… wait for the action,” the Congress MP from Kerala said.
At least six Congress women MPs also wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker today, alleging the government had undermined the authority of the Chair and alleged Birla was being pressurised by the ruling party.