No Confidence Motion Against Birla Defeated By Voice Vote

Birla, who had not been attending the House since the notice for the resolution moved by Congress MPs was accepted by his office, is expected to resume presiding over the House from Thursday.

During the debate, Union home minister Amit Shah criticised the Opposition for bringing the motion and said that in its attempt to oppose the government, it had questioned the integrity of the Speaker, who represents the dignity of parliamentary democracy.

Shah also made personal remarks about Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, saying, “You come and hug the Prime Minister, you give flying kisses and wink at members sitting in the House. Is this how you conduct yourself in Parliament?” The comments triggered strong protests from Opposition members.

After the debate concluded with Shah’s reply, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, invited Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, who had moved the resolution, to speak. However, Jawed joined other Opposition members in demanding an apology from the home minister over his remarks against the Leader of the Opposition.

As protests continued, Pal put the resolution to a voice vote, and it was rejected. The House was then adjourned for the day.

More than 42 Members of Parliament participated in the debate on the resolution moved by Congress MPs seeking the removal of the Speaker, alleging bias and “trampling the voice of the Opposition”.

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, while speaking on the motion, said the issue was not merely about removing the Speaker but about restoring the dignity and independence of the Lok Sabha.

Responding to the debate, Shah accused Gandhi of remaining absent from the House most of the time and not participating in discussions on several major legislations. Many BJP speakers also criticised the Congress and the Leader of the Opposition, prompting Venugopal to question whether the debate was about the Speaker or about Gandhi. Shah said the Speaker serves as a neutral custodian of the House and warned that questioning the Speaker’s integrity undermines parliamentary traditions.

He added that although the BJP had spent years in the Opposition, neither the party nor the NDA had ever brought a motion seeking the removal of the Speaker.

“According to established parliamentary practice, proceedings of the House are conducted on the basis of mutual trust. The Speaker functions as a neutral custodian representing both the ruling party and the Opposition. It is unfortunate that a resolution seeking the removal of the Speaker has been brought,” Shah said.

Earlier, Congress leader Venugopal alleged that Speaker Om Birla’s actions were influenced by the Narendra Modi-led government. He also criticised remarks attributed to the Speaker regarding Congress MPs allegedly planning an “unexpected act” near the Prime Minister’s seat in the House.

Calling the remarks derogatory and irresponsible, Venugopal questioned why the matter was not reported to the police if such information existed.

His comments triggered sharp reactions from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who warned him to choose his words carefully as the Speaker was not present to defend himself.

Rijiju said that if CCTV footage of the incident were released, it would expose the behaviour of certain MPs.