Opposition Rectifies Errors in Lok Sabha Speaker Ouster Notice

New Delhi: By the rules, the Opposition notice for Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's removal could have been dismissed due to "flaws in drafting", but Birla directed the House secretariat to amend the "defective" notice so that it can be listed at the earliest. In another development on Wednesday, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that about 25 Congress MPs had abused Birla in his chamber, but the Speaker refrained from taking strong action against errant Opposition members.

On Tuesday afternoon, as many as 118 Opposition MPs had signed the notice submitted to Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh to remove the Lok Sabha speaker from office. However, four instances of the wrong date being mentioned were found. 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 Lok Sabha sources said, adding that the Speaker directed the Lok Sabha Secretariat to have the defective notice corrected and then proceed with it.

The Opposition parties put in motion the process to remove Birla as the Lok Sabha speaker, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House and prompting him to step aside from chairing the proceedings till the matter is settled.

Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, along with chief whip K. Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed, submitted the notice under Article 94(c) of the Constitution to the Lok Sabha secretary general on behalf of several Opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK.

Lok Sabha secretariat officials said Birla, upholding the highest standards of morality, has decided not to sit in the Speaker's chair until the no-confidence motion moved against him is settled.

Sources also said that discussion on the motion for removal of the Speaker will likely be taken on March 9, when the Parliament reconvenes after a short break.

Amidst the ongoing tussle between the Speaker and the Opposition, the parliamentary affairs minister claimed that 20 to 25 Congress MPs had abused Birla in his chamber in the presence of senior leaders K.C. Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Speaking to the media in Parliament House, Rijiju, "Some members went to his chamber and abused (Mr Birla)… I just can't utter the kind of abuses they have hurled at the speaker."

The minister claimed that Venugopal, Vadra and other senior Congress leaders were present in the chamber when the incident happened. "They were encouraging (the Congress MPs). Had our MPs misbehaved with anyone, our leader would stop them. But their leaders were egging on the MPs to quarrel," Rijiju alleged, adding, " Birla was hurt… He is very lenient; else he could have taken strong action.”

Rijiju further claimed the Congress MPs did not obey even the Speaker's rulings. "Then (Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition) Rahul Gandhi said he does not need anyone's permission to speak (in Lok Sabha). He will speak as he pleases, irrespective of rules. This is on record. You have to take permission from the Chair. Unless the chair gives permission, no member can speak. Even the Prime Minister speaks with the permission of the chair," the minister pointed out.

About Gandhi's insistence on speaking on the unpublished memoir of Gen. M.M. Naravane (Retd.) in the Lok Sabha, Rijiju said that conversations between the Prime Minister and the defence minister, the Army chief and the defence minister or between the Army chief and his junior officers can't be discussed in public.

"If everything is to be discussed in public, how can you maintain the security for the nation?" he wondered. "The entire country can see how an MP is trying to use a very sensitive matter related to the country's security as an instrument to drive political mileage," the minister said, adding that it was a matter that should not be taken lightly, as it will not only demean Parliament but also the person raising it.