New Delhi: Congress MP and Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi is yet to sign the notice of no-confidence motion moved by the opposition party against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, party sources said on Tuesday.Congress sources said that in a parliamentary democracy, it is considered inappropriate for the leader of the opposition to sign a petition seeking the removal of the Speaker, ANI reported. The development comes amid a sharp rise in tensions between the government and the opposition, which has accused the speaker of conducting House proceedings with “blatant partisanship”.Earlier, the opposition parties submitted a notice of no-confidence to Speaker Om Birla under Article 94(c) of the Constitution. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the notification was formally submitted under Rule 94C of the Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business at 1.14 pm.Congress said a total of 118 members signed the notice. The motion has the support of political parties including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). However, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has not signed the notification so far.In the notice, opposition MPs alleged that the Speaker had consistently denied them opportunities to raise issues of public importance. They cited several grievances, including the refusal to allow Rahul Gandhi to speak during the debate on the motion of thanking the President for his address, suspension of opposition MPs and what they said was a lack of action over remarks made by BJP MP Nisikant Dubey against the former prime minister.Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal on Monday said action was imminent, accusing the Speaker of bias. He said despite the parliamentary session, the leader of the opposition was not allowed to speak in the House.The Trinamool Congress, while critical of the functioning of the House, suggested that the opposition parties should first submit a formal appeal to the Speaker before moving a no-confidence motion. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said his party would consider supporting the motion if the Speaker fails to act on such an appeal within two to three days.However, the government downplayed the opposition’s move. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the opposition did not have the numbers needed to pass the resolution and accused it of disrupting parliamentary proceedings.Union Minister and BJP MP Chirag Paswan also criticized the motion, calling it “reprehensible” and claiming that repeated interference by the opposition had led to the ongoing deadlock in the House.Under Section 94(c) of the Constitution, the Speaker of the House of Representatives may remove the Speaker by resolution after a mandatory notice period of 14 days. The move comes against the backdrop of multiple adjournments during the budget session and protests in the Lok Sabha, with both sides blaming each other for the deadlock.
