No confidence motion decision against Lok Sabha speaker on Mar 9; Om Birla to step aside till then

The decision on the no-confidence motion to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is likely to take place on March 9, as per a report. This comes after the Opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against Birla. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that a total of 119 MPs have signed the motion. 

According to a report in ANI that quoted sources, the Opposition MPs have alleged Birla of ‘blatantly partisan’ conduct and that leaders of the Opposition were not allowed to speak. 

WHY A NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION AGAINST THE SPEAKER

As per ANI sources, the motion cited four incidents against the Speaker, including not letting Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. 

The Opposition MPs have also flagged the suspension of eight MPs, as well as BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s ‘objectionable and personalised attacks’ against former Prime Ministers, and Birla’s statement that he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not come to the House. He said he asked PM Modi to stay away after he received information that some Congress MPs could come to the PM’s seat and ‘resort to an unprecedented incident’. 

OM BIRLA RECUSES HIMSELF

Birla, meanwhile, decided to step aside from his role hours after the Opposition MPs submitted the notice for his removal. “Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has taken a big decision, upholding the highest standards of morality. He will not sit in the speaker’s chair until the no-confidence motion brought by the opposition is settled,” an official said.

Article 96 of the Constitution bars a speaker or a deputy speaker from presiding over the House sitting while a resolution for his removal from office is under consideration.

HAS ANY SPEAKER BEEN REMOVED BEFORE?

The Opposition’s motion marks another attempt in a series of unsuccessful efforts to remove a sitting speaker. The Lok Sabha secretariat will examine the notice according to parliamentary rules. Although the process is open to all members, no speaker has ever been removed through it.

To move a resolution for the speaker’s removal, at least two members must sign the notice. The process is governed by Article 94C of the Constitution, which allows removal by a simple majority of the House’s effective membership, not just those present and voting. Former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary explained that all members of the House are counted to compute the majority, not only those present and voting.

The notice must be submitted to the Lok Sabha secretary general. At the preliminary stage, it is checked for very specific charges, a requirement for admissibility. The resolution must not contain defamatory language. Its language is usually examined by the deputy speaker or, if absent, by the senior-most member of the panel of chairpersons.

The panel of chairpersons helps run the House in the speaker’s absence. Achary noted that the rule is silent on the speaker examining a resolution seeking their own removal.

After initial scrutiny, the resolution cannot be presented to the House for at least 14 days. During this period, the speaker cannot preside while the motion is under consideration, as per Article 96. The chair places the resolution before the House, which must grant permission for discussion. If 50 members stand in support, the House grants permission, and the resolution is taken up for discussion and disposed of within 10 days.

Despite multiple attempts, no Lok Sabha speaker has ever been removed. Previous motions against G V Mavlankar in 1954, Hukam Singh in 1966, and Balram Jakhar in 1987 were all negated by the House.