Oppn MPs move no-trust motion against LS Speaker

New Delhi: About 120 Opposition MPs from Congress, DMK, and Samajwadi Party moved a notice to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla from the office, citing partisan conduct and false allegations against Congress members.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi did not sign the notice of no-confidence motion against the Speaker, as it is not proper for the Leader of Opposition to sign a petition for the removal of the Speaker in a parliamentary democracy. In the notice, the Opposition said the Speaker's remarks against Opposition members in the House are indicative of 'abuse of this constitutional office'.

The notice said the Speaker's remarks cast blatantly false allegations against Congress members. The notice was given under Article 94(c) because of 'blatantly partisan manner' in which the Speaker has been conducting the business of the Lok Sabha, the Opposition said. "We are pained at the manner in which the Speaker consistently prevented Opposition MPs from raising public interest issues," the Opposition said. The Opposition has moved the resolution disallowing Rahul Gandhi and other opposition MPs from speaking in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address and for the suspension of eight MPs.

The Speaker has directed Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh to examine the notice, sources said.

Congress MP and chief whip K Suresh submitted the notice to the Lok Sabha secretariat on behalf of several Opposition parties. The Lok Sabha has not been functioning properly ever since Gandhi was not allowed to speak on February 2. The TMC MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not a party to it.