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Om Birla
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said the House functions strictly under its rules and regulations and will continue to do so, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member, and asserted that he would conduct the proceedings with sincerity and fairness. A day after a motion seeking his removal as Speaker was defeated in the House, Birla also said that the Chair does not belong to any one individual but is a symbol of the prestige of the House. Birla said he was grateful to the members of the House for the faith reposed in him during debate and thanked all those who spoke in favour of him as well as against him. "The House has been running with rules and regulations and will continue to function in future, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member or not. I will continue to discharge my duty with all sincerity and impartiality," he said amidst the thumping of desks by the treasury bench members. Thursday was the first time Birla came to the House to condu
The resolution seeking the removal of Om Birla as Speaker was on Wednesday defeated in Lok Sabha by a voice vote. Amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition seeking an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated. Pal urged the opposition to take their seats so that he could put the motion to vote. But as the protests continued, he sought the vote of the House and the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, following which he adjourned the House for the day. Earlier, the home minister hit out at the opposition for bringing the motion for the removal of Birla as Speaker. The opposition objected to certain remarks of Shah and started shouting slogans, disrupted the proceedings and sought an apology from him. Responding to the two-day-long debate, Shah asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party. "It is not an ordinary occurrence as after nearly f
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up an opposition resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla from office for his alleged bias towards the ruling party, amid a heated debate on who will preside over the House while the motion is being taken up. Congress legislator Mohammad Jawed read out the notice seeking to move a resolution to remove Birla from office. Besides Jawed, MPs K Suresh and Mallu Ravi had also moved the resolution. As soon as Jawed read out the notice, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi raised a point of order questioning the decision to allow Jagdambika Pal to chair the proceedings as he was appointed to the panel of chairpersons by Speaker Birla. BJP's Nishikant Dubey countered the claim, citing constitutional provisions, law and House rules. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Owaisi's claim was irrelevant as Pal was competent to preside over the Lok Sabha when the resolution was taken up. Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said Rijiju should move a mot
The Lok Sabha on Monday could not take up a resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla amid repeated adjournments, as opposition members demanded a debate on the West Asia situation. 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
The second half of the Budget session of Parliament is set for a stormy start on Monday, with the Lok Sabha scheduled to take up the opposition-sponsored resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla. The ongoing conflict in West Asia is also likely to figure prominently as the opposition is already attacking the government over its stance towards Iran, the US "waiver" on India's Russian oil purchase, among other issues. Besides, the outcome of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound West Bengal, which led to the deletion of nearly 60 lakh votes, is also expected to cast its shadow on parliamentary proceedings. The no-confidence resolution against Birla was given by several opposition leaders who alleged that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House. They had also accused the speaker of making certain false claims against the Congress members when he spoke of some "unexpected action" in the Lok Sabha and had asked Prime Minister
The Lok Sabha will witness a rare moment most likely on Monday next when Om Birla will not chair proceedings but will be seated amongst the members as the House takes up a notice seeking his removal from office. As Parliament meets for the second phase of the Budget session on March 9, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up the resolution moved by the opposition against Birla's for allegedly acting in a "blatantly partisan" manner. According to the rules and laid down procedure, Birla will get a right to defend himself when the resolution is discussed by the lower house. He will also have the right to vote against the resolution, Constitution expert P D T Achary explained. The expert said while Birla will not chair the proceedings when the resolution comes up before the House, he will be seated in the prominent rows in the Treasury benches. At least 118 opposition members had submitted a notice for moving the resolution to remove Birla from office for not allowing Leader of Opposition
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday attended the swearing-in ceremony of new Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, and said India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation. Separately, the speaker called on the new Bangladesh prime minister and conveyed the wishes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also handed over an invitation from Prime Minister Modi to Rahman to visit India, officials said here. "Glad to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government of Bangladesh led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in Dhaka today. India stands ready to support Bangladesh's endeavours to build a democratic, progressive and inclusive nation," Birla posted on X. Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said in a post on X, "Prime Minister Tarique Rahman conveys his greetings to India and PM Narendra Modi to the visiting India Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at a courtesy meet following the swearing-in
The debate and subsequent vote on the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will be taken up on March 9, when the House reassembles after the recess, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said here on Sunday. Rijiju stated that the second part of the Budget Session, scheduled from March 9 to April 2, will be "interesting" as several "important" legislations and a "critical" bill will be presented in Parliament for debate and passage. He warned that if opposition parties continue their protests as they did during the first part of the session, it would ultimately be detrimental to them. "On March 9 in the Lok Sabha, we will have the debate on the no-confidence motion moved against the speaker. It is the rule to take it up on the first day. There will be a vote following the debate," he told PTI in an interview. The Budget Session began with the president's address to the joint sitting of Parliament on January 28 and went on reces
The opposition notice for removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla could have been rejected due to flaws in drafting, but he directed officials to get it rectified so that it can be listed at the earliest, parliamentary sources said. As many as 118 opposition MPs had signed the notice submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the day, the opposition withdrew the notice and replaced it with another one correcting the date. "The notice reportedly mentions the events of February 2025 four times, on the basis of which it could have been rejected as per the rules," the sources said. The Speaker directed the Lok Sabha Secretariat to have the defective notice corrected and then proceed with it. "Birla ordered prompt action as per the rules," a functionary said. Sources said upon receipt of the revised notice, a speedy review will be conducted as per the rules. Opposition parties on Tuesday put in motion the process to oust Birla as Lok Sabha
The opposition on Tuesday submitted a notice for moving a resolution to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla from office for disallowing Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders from speaking in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, as well as for the suspension of eight MPs. Congress MP and chief whip K Suresh submitted the notice to the Lok Sabha secretariat 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 and Samajwadi Party, had already signed a notice for moving the resolution, the sources said. The Lok Sabha has not been functioning properly ever since Gandhi was not allowed to speak on February 2.
With the opposition asserting that there was no imminent threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha last week, lower House secretariat sources on Monday said that several women MPs had moved "aggressively" towards his seat and Speaker Om Birla had genuine concerns regarding Modi's safety. Citing the sequence of events which unfolded in the House on Wednesday, they said the speaker had "genuine and well-founded concerns regarding the safety of the prime minister" and the "maintenance of order" in the House. Birla's advice to the prime minister not to enter the LS chamber at that juncture was guided solely by the "need to ensure the smooth functioning of parliamentary business and to safeguard the dignity and sanctity of the institution," the Lok Sabha secretariat sources said. The assertion of the sources came hours after Congress' women Lok Sabha MPs wrote to Birla claiming that under pressure from the ruling party to defend the "non-appearance" of Prime Minister Narend
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said he had concrete information that many Congress MPs could carry out an "unexpected act" by reaching the spot where Prime Minister Narendra Modi sits and therefore he asked him not to come to the House to deliver his address. If this incident had taken place, then this would have left the democratic traditions of the country in shreds, Birla said as the House reassembled at 3 PM. Lashing out at opposition members, the Speaker said the conduct of some of them in his office on Wednesday was not appropriate and in fact was "like a black spot". "With sadness I have to inform that some members displayed such behaviour in the House on Wednesday that had never been witnessed in its history," he said. The Lok Sabha on Wednesday witnessed dramatic scenes as women opposition MPs charged towards the prime minister's seat holding banners ahead of his scheduled speech, leading to adjournment of proceedings for the day. Modi was not present in the House