Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is facing a no confidence motion moved by opposition MPs who have alleged “the blatantly partisan manner in which he has been conducting the business of the Lok Sabha”. The notice was moved by opposition members in the first half of the Budget session last month, and was signed by as many as 118 MPs.
While Birla is not the first Speaker to face such a motion against him, he holds the distinction of having presided over the suspension of an unprecedented 100 opposition MPs in the Lower House during the 17th Lok Sabha. Another 46 opposition MPs had been suspended from the Rajya Sabha. Birla, who is serving his second term as Speaker, also does not have a deputy in the House. The post of the deputy speaker has remained vacant for almost seven years, with the 17th Lok Sabha also ending without one.
The opposition members have pointed to Birla’s actions during the Budget session that led to the no confidence motion notice being served against him.
The events leading up to the no confidence motion notice served against Birla, and the Speaker’s actions since 2019 that have met with allegations of being partisan, are being examined here by The Wire.
February 2: LoP Speech disrupted, Speaker cites Rules 349, 353 to bar quoting from an article
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s speech during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address on February 2 was stopped after disruptions by the Treasury benches opposing references to former army chief General M.M. Naravane’s yet-unreleased memoir which contains a series of revelations, including the former Aamy chief detailing how he was handed a “hot potato” by the executive in dealing with Chinese troop movement in 2020.
While Union ministers raised objections to Gandhi, Birla first said that Gandhi should authenticate any references made in the House, and then went on to say that no references can be made which refer to newspaper cuttings that are not authentic. Birla referred to Rule 349 and Rule 353 to bar Gandhi from making any references to The Caravan magazine article that quotes Naravane’s yet to be published book. But experts say that the rules do not bar Gandhi from quoting any news article or magazine.
February 3: Eight opposition MPs suspended
On February 3, eight opposition MPs were suspended from the Lok Sabha following an uproar after leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi was stopped from speaking during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
The same day, when Gandhi resumed his reply to the Motion on Tuesday afternoon, he began by saying that he had authenticated The Caravan article on General Naravane’s unpublished memoir, which included excerpts from the book. While Gandhi sought to speak without directly quoting the article, Telugu Desam Party MP Krishna Prasad Tenneti who was presiding over the chair, objected and moved on to call the next speaker.
February 4: BJP MP furnishes books in the house
On February 4, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey brought a number of books alleging corruption by the Gandhi family. Tenneti, who was presiding over the proceedings, sought to stop Dubey citing Rule 349, which Birla had invoked to bar Gandhi from quoting Naravane’s book, but Dubey continued furnishing books for about three minutes until the house’s proceedings were adjourned amid protests by the opposition.
The same day Congress MPs went to the Speaker’s office to protest against Dubey. The next day, Birla informed the House that he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come as he had received information that women Congress MPs had gathered around the Prime Minister’s chair and any untoward incident could have taken place.
February 5: Birla condemns opposition behaviour in his chamber, makes no mention of Dubey violating Speaker’s ruling
While Birla condemned that the way opposition MPs behaved in his office the day before, he did not make any mention of why the opposition members had gone to his office. He also did not talk about how Dubey had defied Birla’s own rule 349 ruling against Gandhi referring to the books in the House.
February 5: Motion of Thanks Passed without LoP being allowed to speak
On February 5, the Motion of Thanks was passed in the Lok Sabha without the prime minister’s speech for the first time since 2004.
In an unprecedented move, the leader of opposition was not allowed to make his speech at all.
February 10: Union parliamentary affairs minister releases Lok Sabha proceedings clip that was not shown on Sansad TV during live broadcast
While Sansad TV that broadcasts parliamentary proceedings did not show the scenes of women MPs surrounding the prime minister’s chair, Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on February 10 released the footage on X. The clip shared by Rijiju shows women MPs standing near the prime minister’s seat holding banners.
Congress MP Jothimani, who was also seen in the video, responded to the clip on X, thanked the minister and said that though it is not parliamentary convention to do so, the footage shows the MPs holding banners and “calmly talking” to ruling party MPs near the treasury benches. “We were not threatening anyone and were not indulging in violence,” she said.
Opposition allegations of mics muted
Opposition leaders have also alleged in the past that their microphones have been muted in the house. Birla has denied that the control of microphones lies with the chair.
In March 2025, a delegation of INDIA bloc MPs met Birla and submitted a letter raising 12 issues including the failure to appoint a deputy speaker in the house, “denial of opportunity to speak” to leader of opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, “disregard” of decisions taken by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), rejection of adjournment motions, Sansad TV’s camera angles not showing the opposition, among others.
Sansad TV not showing opposition members
In 2023 too opposition MPs have accused Sansad TV of not showing members of the INDIA alliance when they are speaking and only showing the Speaker’s chair at those times. The camera remains on BJP MPs and ministers when they speak, they have alleged.
Opposition demands for discussion not allowed
In recent years, parliament has also seen a stalemate as opposition demands for a discussion not being allowed including the violence in Manipur (which saw a discussion only after a no confidence motion was moved to ensure one takes place), Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, security breach in parliament as well as passing crucial bills in the opposition’s absence.
Birla presided over unprecedented number of MPs’ suspensions
Birla, who has become the Speaker for the second time in the 18th Lok Sabha, was also the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha and had presided over the suspension of an unprecedented 100 opposition MPs in the Lower House. Another 46 opposition MPs had been suspended from the Rajya Sabha.
Deputy speaker post remains vacant
The Lok Sabha has also been without a deputy speaker for seven years.
Article 93 of the Constitution states that the Lok Sabha needs to choose two members as the speaker and deputy speaker “as soon as may be”. While it is not mandated by the Constitution, a parliamentary convention has developed over the years to choose a member of the opposition as the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha.
This article has been republished with permission from TheWire. The original article can be read here.