PM Modi praises Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla: ‘He handled unruly MPs from large families very well’

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker faces opposition resolution to remove him from office, two days ahead About Birla Saturday got from Prime Minister ModiHe both praised his work and lashed out at his rivals in the BJP, saying Birla handled even some “arrogant and unruly” members from the extended family well and “did not insult anyone”. “He endured everyone’s vitriol and, as you must have seen, he always had a smile on his face,” Modi said in a virtual address at the foundation-laying ceremony of the Kotabundi airport in Birla constituency, which faces accusations of “blatant partisanship” from opposition lawmakers.PM Modi: Speaker is above party politicsBirla was praised by Modi for his impartiality. The prime minister said he does not belong to any group and is above party politics. Modi said Birla was an outstanding parliamentarian and an outstanding Speaker who was fully committed to the Constitution and the parliamentary system.Modi said he was like the head of the family, committed to taking everyone forward and respecting MPs and their sentiments. “Sometimes, when arrogant, unruly students from large families came to Parliament and could not help but create ruckus, he would treat them like the Speaker of the House,” he said, sharply criticizing leading opposition officials such as Rahul Gandhi. He said Birla was loved by everyone.Birla’s ruling barring Rahul from quoting former army chief Naravane’s unpublished memoirs during the first half of the budget session triggered outcry from opposition members and caused days of chaos.After a flurry of incidents, including a statement by Birla urging Modi to cancel a speech he was scheduled to deliver in the House of Representatives because he feared some of the congresswomen gathered around Modi’s allocated seats might do something unreasonable, the opposition issued a notice signed by 118 members calling for his removal.The House of Representatives is scheduled to consider the opposition resolution when it meets on Monday. The BJP-led New Democratic Alliance secured an absolute majority, making the motion’s failure almost certain.