Congress Moves No-Confidence Motion Against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Amid Budget Session Standoff
New Delhi: Escalating its confrontation with the BJP-led NDA government, the Indian National Congress on Tuesday moved a no-confidence notice against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging repeated instances of partisan conduct during the ongoing Budget session.
The notice, signed by 120 Opposition MPs, seeks the removal of the Speaker under Article 94(c) of the Constitution. The Congress accused Birla of denying speaking time to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, failing to act against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over remarks against women Congress MPs, and suspending eight Opposition MPs from the House.
In its motion, the Congress said the Speaker had conducted Lok Sabha proceedings in a “blatantly partisan manner” and had repeatedly prevented Opposition leaders from speaking, calling it a violation of basic democratic rights in Parliament.
Reacting to the move, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the Opposition was compelled to take this step under “extraordinary circumstances”. In a post on X, Tagore said that while the Opposition holds the Speaker in personal regard, it was anguished by the consistent denial of opportunities to raise issues of public importance.
The motion has received support from 120 MPs, including backing from the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Another INDIA bloc partner, the All India Trinamool Congress, is yet to clarify its stand.
The immediate trigger for the motion lies in a series of confrontations during the Budget session. Tensions flared after Speaker Om Birla stopped Rahul Gandhi from quoting an article that referred to an unpublished memoir of former Army chief Manoj Mukund Naravane while speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. The House descended into chaos as Gandhi repeatedly attempted to refer to excerpts related to the 2020 Galwan Valley clash with China.
Birla also suspended eight Congress MPs for repeated disruptions. On February 4, he advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the Lok Sabha to deliver his scheduled address, citing information that some Congress MPs might rush towards the Prime Minister’s seat and trigger an unprecedented situation.
This decision was followed by a letter from BJP women MPs alleging that Opposition women MPs had crossed parliamentary limits. BJP MPs later wrote to the Speaker claiming that Opposition members surrounded the Prime Minister’s seat and aggressively approached the Speaker’s chamber, urging strict action.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also shared a video of the February 4 stand-off, accusing the Congress of provoking chaos. The video showed ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw and Giriraj Singh, urging Opposition MPs to return to their seats, while protests continued inside the House.
Article 94(c) of the Constitution allows for the removal of the Speaker by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha. Such motions are rare and underline the seriousness of the confrontation between the government and the Opposition.
Our Thoughts
A no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker is an extraordinary parliamentary step and reflects the depth of mistrust between the government and the Opposition during this Budget session. While maintaining order in the House is a core responsibility of the Speaker, repeated allegations of bias risk eroding institutional credibility. How this motion is addressed will have implications not just for the remainder of the session, but for parliamentary norms and the balance between authority and accountability in India’s democracy.