Page 2 - Lok Sabha Speaker

LS Speaker Birla embarks on visit to Brazil for Brics Parliamentary Forum

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday embarked on a visit to Brazil to participate in the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum where he is scheduled to present his views on reform of multi-lateral peace and security architecture. Birla is leading the Indian parliamentary delegation for the BRICS Parliamentary Forum which will be held from June 3-5 at Brasilia. The Forum will be attended by presiding officers of parliaments of BRICS members and invited nations. The theme for the Forum is 'The Role of BRICS Parliaments in Building a More Inclusive and Sustainable, Global Governance'. The BRICS grouping comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Iran. Presiding officers from Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan too have been invited to participate in the forum meetings along with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Tulia Ackson. The Lok Sabha Spea

Om Birla to attend SCCI platinum jubilee celebrations in Jamshedpur

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will visit Jharkhand's Jamshedpur on May 25 to take part in the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), an official said on Sunday. Apart from Birla, who will be the chief guest at the event, Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth and former Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda will also participate in the programme to be held on Loyola School premises here, said SCCI general secretary Manav Kedia. SCCI president Vijay Anand Moonka said this would be the first time a Lok Sabha Speaker will visit steel city Jamshedpur. The chamber was formed in 1948 with the objective to address the issues faced by industries and traders, he said. It has 2,500 members, who represent around 2 lakh people of the city and surrounding areas directly or indirectly, Moonka said.

Om Birla praises Modi govt for transforming rail connectivity for people

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla attended the inaugural ceremony of the special train between Kota and Delhi from Kota Railway Station

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die as Budget session ends, 16 Bills passed

The Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, bringing down the curtains on the Budget session which began on January 31. As soon as the House met at 12 noon after an adjournment over remarks by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out his valedictory remarks and adjourned the House sine die (indefinitely till the new session is convened). He said as many as 16 bills were passed during the session and the House productivity was pegged at over 118 per cent. As he spoke, opposition members were raising slogans against Birla's observation against Gandhi that her claim that the Waqf amendment Bill was bulldozed without discussion was unfortunate and against dignity of the House. During the session, the government completed its budgetary exercise after the Lok Sabha gave its nod to the demands for grants for the various ministries as well as the Finance Bill. The budget for Manipur, under central rule, was also cleared. The Waqf amendment bill, which witness

Oppn leaders write to Speaker over 'disregard' for Parliamentary procedure

Opposition leaders voiced their concerns in their letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker regarding what they described as the government's increasing disregard for parliamentary procedures & democratic norms

'Speaker did not let me speak': Rahul Gandhi hits out at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla | Parliament

Lok Sabha LoP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says, " I don't know what is going on...I requested him to let me speak but he (Speaker) just ran away.

Speaker uses Rule 349 to disallow Oppn members from wearing slogan T-shirts

Opposition DMK members protested in the Lok Sabha on Thursday against the proposed delimitation of constituencies, prompting Speaker Om Birla to remind them of a rule governing the conduct of MPs in the House. Birla said attending the House proceedings wearing T-shirts with slogans written on those is not acceptable and against parliamentary rules and decorum. "House functions with rules and procedures. Members have to maintain the dignity and honour of the House. But some MPs are not following the rules and violating the dignity, which is not acceptable," Birla said, citing Rule 349 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House of the People. The speaker directed those members, who came wearing T-shirts with slogans written on those, to go out of the House and come back wearing proper dresses. Rule 349 deals with "Rules to be observed by members in House". Rule 349(xvi) says: "Whilst the House is sitting, a member shall not display flags, emblems or any exhibits

Women's Day: LS Speaker highlights women's leadership in nation-building

On International Women's Day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla underscored the pivotal role of women in India's progress, emphasising their leadership across governance, science, defense, education, and entrepreneurship. Speaking at an event in the Parliament House Complex, he lauded the increasing presence of women in decision-making roles and reiterated that India is entering a new era where women are driving change from grassroots democracy to national governance. Highlighting the contributions of pioneering women in India's democratic framework, Birla paid tributes to the 15 women members of the Constituent Assembly, whose vision, he said, continues to inspire future generations. As the nation marks 75 years of the Constitution, he emphasised the importance of recognising their efforts in laying the foundation for gender equality and inclusive governance. He also reflected on India's deep-rooted tradition of revering women, citing their resilience and strength as key pillars of ...

Translation services extended to 6 new languages in Parliament: Om Birla

Translation services were available in 10 languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, in addition to Hindi and English

LS takes up 18 questions amid noisy opposition protests over Kumbh stampede

Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed prolonged noisy protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the recent stampede at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and a list of those deceased. When the House met for the first time after the President's address to the joint sitting and presentation of the 2025-26 budget, the opposition MPs led by the Congress were on their feet and demanded a discussion on the recent tragedy in Maha Kumbh. Soon the opposition members stormed the Well of the House resorting to noisy protests and sloganeering. Led by deputy leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi and Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, the opposition members also sought suspension of the Question Hour and demanded a discussion on the stampede. Opposition members were raising slogans such as "Sanatan virodhi sarkar istifa do (step down anti-sanatan government). Speaker Om Birla warned members against thumping tables as a mark of protest, saying people send their representatives to ask .

Political parties should have code of conduct for lawmakers, says Om Birla

Amid disruptions in Parliament and state legislatures, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday urged political parties to devise a code of conduct for their lawmakers to uphold the dignity of their respective Houses. The two-day 85th All India Presiding Officers' Conference also adopted a five-point resolution that included a collective resolve to take steps to ensure "disruption-free" debate and discussion in their respective legislatures. The presiding officers agreed to deploy technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to bring legislative bodies closer to the people by making available debates in the local and two additional languages, Birla said. The presiding officers voiced concern over the decline in the number of sittings of state legislatures and agreed to implement the resolutions of previous meetings. "In an earlier meeting of the presiding officers, we had resolved that the state legislatures would hold at least 60 sittings in a calendar year. We h

Om Birla expresses concern over fewer sittings of legislative bodies

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the 85th All India Presiding Officers' Conference (AIPOC) in Patna on Monday. The two-day conference is being held on '75th Anniversary of Constitution: Contribution of Parliament and State legislative bodies in strengthening constitutional values'. In the conference, the delegates will deliberate on the adoption of modern technologies in legislative bodies for greater efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, officials said. Bihar Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav said this was the third time the state was hosting the programme after a gap of 43 years. "The land of Bihar is considered to be the centre of cultural, historical and intellectual heritage of India. This land has given birth to the compassion of Lord Buddha, the non-violence of Mahavira and the courage of Guru Govind Singh. This is the land from where Chanakya started the principles politics and emperor Ashoka gave the message of morality in governance," he said, adding that th

Om Birla chairs CSPOC committee meet as India to host conference next year

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday made a strong pitch for the use of artificial intelligence and social media in the working of parliaments. Birla made these remarks while chairing the standing committee meeting of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Parliaments of Commonwealth Countries (CSPOC) in Guernsey. India is hosting the 28th CSPOC next year. Birla said India is witnessing massive transformation in several sectors, such as agriculture, fintech, AI, and research and innovation. He said delegates attending the CSPOC would experience a unique blend of heritage and progress of the country. Last year, the Lok Sabha adopted artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to enhance the accessibility of parliamentary proceedings to lawmakers. These cutting-edge technologies are used to provide regional language translations for Members of Parliament and make available parliamentary papers in different languages. Birla highlighted the impo

UK has strong belief in India's democratic values, growth story: Om Birla

There is a strong belief in India's democratic values and growth story here, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said in London during his ongoing visit to the UK. Addressing a community gathering at the High Commission of India in London on Wednesday evening, Birla shared insights from his dialogues with his UK counterpart House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and other members of Parliament. He noted that his interactions highlighted the strength of the India-UK parliamentary cooperation and the multifaceted nature of the bilateral partnership across multiple sectors. I had a good dialogue with leading UK parliamentarians and they displayed a strong belief in India's democratic values and growth story, Birla said. Our electoral process is transparent, which has helped reinforce a belief in democracy around the world. We take pride as the largest democracy of the world, dubbed the mother of democracy', and I extend an invitation to come visit India's new Parliament as we mark 75 year

Om Birla urges women PRI leaders to adopt AI, innovation for governance

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday asked women representatives from Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation in order to make their areas more "people-oriented". Speaking at the 'Panchayat se Parliament 2.0' programme, Birla stressed the importance of technological advancements to drive sustainable development and improve governance at the grassroots level. The event, held at the historic Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, was organized by the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in collaboration with the National Commission for Women and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. More than 500 women PRI representatives from 22 states and Union territories participated, with the gathering serving as a platform for reaffirming India's commitment to women-led development and grassroots empowerment. In his address, Birla underscored the transformative power of women leadership in strengthening India's democracy, ...

Bills that rose above Parliament's din to become legislation in 2024

From 'One Nation, One Election' to financial reforms, here's a glimpse at the landmark bills passed this year that are poised to reshape governance, law, and the economy

Hindi has played key role in India's development: LS Speaker Om Birla

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday said that Hindi was India's soul and identity and along with other languages has played a significant role in the development of society and the nation. Addressing the 30th Annual Convention of the Etawah Hindi Seva Nidhi, Birla said that Hindi has woven the country's cultural diversity into a single thread and empowered it. He said that Hindi was not only a common language of communication but has adapted according to the changing technical landscape. "Today, with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the rich legacy of Hindi literature and poetry is available across the globe," he said, adding that Hindi has also been increasingly used in the fields of justice, administration and internet technology. Birla said that during the making of India's Constitution, the visionary leaders from various states, speaking different languages and dialects, recognized the importance of languages as symbols of unity and acknowledged Hindi's inherent potent

Lok Sabha pays tribute to martyrs of 2001 terror attack on Parliament

The Lok Sabha on Friday paid rich tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives in foiling a terror attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla solemnly reiterated the commitment of the Lower House to fight terrorism and pledged to protect the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation. "This House and the entire nation solemnly remembers unfortunate incident of December 13, 2001, when some terrorists attacked India's Parliament, the greatest symbol of our democracy," Birla said as soon as the House convened at 11:00 am. "Our alert security personnel deployed to ensure security of the Parliament premises displayed extraordinary courage and foiled this attack," he said. The Lok Sabha speaker said eight personnel from the Parliament Security Service, Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) laid down their lives while courageously repulsing the terror attack. One worker of the Central Public Works Department also laid down

Opposition protests disrupt Lok Sabha; House adjourned for the day

Lok Sabha proceedings were on Monday adjourned for the day after the opposition's protests over allegations of George Soros-Congress link and Adani issue led to repeated disruptions. When the House met at 11 am after the weekend, the opposition members were on their feet, trying to raise their issues. A visibly agitated Speaker Om Birla asked the MPs to go back to their seats and allow the House to function. "Question Hour is significant. Allow the House to function properly. But you don't want to allow the House to run. The country wants the House to run. You are disrupting the proceedings of the House," he told the protesting members and adjourned the House till 12 noon. The noisy protests again forced an adjournment till 2 pm and then till 3 pm, before the proceedings were wrapped for the day. As soon as the House re-convened at noon, Congress members trooped into the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans against the government. They were soon joined by Samajwadi Party ...

Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am of December 9

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla made a fervent appeal for order and cooperation during the winter session