Parliament Live! Show of partisanship by Speaker is absolutely incredible: Mahua

A top Iranian security official has threatened US President Donald Trump in an online message.

Ali Larijani wrote the message on X Tuesday (March 10) after Trump threatened to attack Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Larijani wrote: “The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn't fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn't eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.” Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.

US President Donald Trump on Monday (March 10) said the US Navy had sunk 46 Iranian naval vessels so far, describing them as “top-of-the-line” ships. Speaking at a gathering of congressional Republicans in Washington DC, Trump recounted a conversation with a military official about the Navy’s operations against Iran’s fleet.

According to Trump, when he asked why the ships were not being captured and reused instead of destroyed, the official responded that it was “more fun to sink them”. Trump’s remarks came after he appeared to shift his stance on the progress of the conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier in the day, he told an American news outlet that the war was “pretty much” over and that the US was well ahead of the four-to-five week timeline he had initially predicted. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force,” he told CBS News.

However, hours later, while addressing congressional Republicans, Trump said the US had “not won enough” and that the conflict would continue until Iran was “totally and decisively defeated.”

Former Ladakh LG Kavinder Gupta was sworn in as the governor of Himachal Pradesh in a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday (March 10), following which he said the position does not belong to any political party.

The governor works for the overall development of the state and society, he added.

Gupta performed a traditional pooja with his family members before proceeding to the oath-taking ceremony. He took the oath in Hindi.

Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Earlier, Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta read out the warrant of appointment issued by the President after which the governor's signature on the charge certificate was obtained.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, several Cabinet ministers, senior civil and police officers and other prominent personalities were present on the occasion.

Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh also attended the ceremony.

For the first time at the Lok Bhavan, the ceremony began with the singing of Vande Mataram, followed by the national anthem.

As the conflict spread across the region, Israel launched multiple attacks on the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon, which responded by firing missiles into Israel.

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq have also launched attacks at US bases in the country since the beginning of the conflict.

Early Tuesday (March 10), one such militia — the 40th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Forces in the city of Kirkuk — was hit with an airstrike that killed at least five militiamen and wounded four, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the strikes.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Tuesday it completed a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah's financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan. Israel had also targeted several of the group's branches in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.

Israel's military also reiterated a call for all residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes, saying it planned to “operate forcefully” there against Hezbollah.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra says she is speaking in support of the motion seeking the Speaker’s removal, accusing him of presiding over what she described as the “liquidation of parliamentary democracy”. She says it was “divine karma” that she, who she claimed was “illegally targeted by this misogynistic government” and expelled from the House without being allowed to speak in her defence, was now participating in a no-confidence motion against the same Speaker.

Moitra alleges that the functioning of the Lok Sabha had deteriorated to the point where “the moment the Speaker enters the House, dignity leaves it”. She said the suspension of 100 MPs in a single day under Om Birla accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all suspensions in the Lok Sabha so far, and argues that the manner in which certain laws, including amendments to criminal laws, had been passed made the Speaker “complicit in throttling democracy”.

Treasury bench MPs objected to her description of the Speaker as “criminally complicit”. Moitra responds that the words could be expunged from the record, “though it will not make him any less of a criminal”. She was also cautioned by the Chair for remarks about the Marshal while questioning why the official appeared to be pointing out rules to the presiding officer. When BJP MPs demanded that she be warned against making remarks about the Chair, Moitra replied that since the motion was against the Chair, criticism of it was inevitable.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra alleged that Speaker Om Birla had “perfected the art of switching off the microphones of Opposition MPs mid-sentence”, while members from the Treasury benches were allowed to speak at length without interruption from the Chair.

She also recalled that the Speaker did not permit a discussion on the situation in Manipur despite repeated adjournment motions, forcing the Opposition to bring a no-confidence motion against the government to secure a debate. Moitra further alleged that the Speaker took no action when BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri made abusive remarks against SP MP Danish Ali in the House, allowing Bidhuri to continue as a member without facing any action.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi responds to Rijiju's quip at her. "They said I was smiling. I only want to clarify why I was smiling. It was because those who used to constantly abuse Nehru had to admit in this House today that Nehru strengthened democracy and had to quote Nehru's speeches in their own defence," Priyanka says.

The only person in the country in the past 12 years who has not bent before these people (the government) is Rahul Gandhi and that scares them, she adds.

Australia granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women's soccer team who were visiting the country for a tournament when the Iran war began, a government minister said on Tuesday (March 10).

The announcement followed days of urging by Iranian groups in Australia and by US President Donald Trump for the Australian government to help the women, who had not spoken publicly about a wish to claim asylum.

The team drew speculation and news coverage in Australia when players didn't sing the Iranian anthem before their first match.

Early Tuesday, police officers transported five of the women from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia, “to a safe location” after they made asylum requests. There, they met with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas was finalised, the minister told reporters in Brisbane.

The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on Feb 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment. Iran's head coach Marziyeh Jafari said on Sunday the players “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can." An official squad list named 26 players, plus Jafari and other coaches. Burke said the offer of asylum was extended to all on the team.

Rijiju alleges the no-confidence motion has been brought by people who want to attack Constitutional positions and institutions because the post of the Speaker is a high constitutional office.

Rijiju says their (Congress) first allegation is that LoP was not allowed to speak, but in the 15th Lok Sabha (UPA-1), Rahul Gandhi spoke only 2 times during the full term and went abroad whenever sessions were held. Continuing to attack Rahul Gandhi for his "lack of seriousness", Rijiju says the House has seen such an LoP for the first time who "comes running across the floor of the House to hug the Prime Minister and then goes back and winks at his colleagues".

Rijiju takes a swipe at Priyanka Gandhi too, claiming the Congress chose Rahul to be LoP even though they had better people, "including Priyanka Gandhi, who at least attends the House, smiles and listens to other people's speeches".

"If a child strays, the parents show him the right path. In this House, the Speaker is the guardian, and if leaders stray from the rules, then the Speaker has the duty to correct them," says Rijiju, while adding that the attack against the Speaker is part of a design to question the legitimacy of the democratic institutions "only because they (Congress) are unable to win elections".

321 supplementary questions allowed to Treasury MPs but Opposition MPs allowed 364 supplementary questions by the Speaker until now, says Rijiju, asking "how is this partisan conduct".

Trinamool MP Saugata Roy objects to the Chair allowing Rijiju to speak for more than 30 minutes when the rule on motion seeking Speaker's removal allows a member to speak for 15 minutes. Rijiju retorts, saying that when a similar motion was brought against GV Mavalankar, the debate went on for only 2 hours and 15 minutes, but the government today had allocated 10 hours for the discussion because it is confident of its position and defence of the Speaker.

Union minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that more than 50 Opposition MPs had met him and said they were not in favour of moving the motion against Speaker Om Birla but were compelled to support it under pressure from Congress leaders. He added that Birla was “such a great man” that he had personally corrected the infirmities in the notice seeking his own removal.

Rijiju said he was speaking on the motion with a heavy heart and urged Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi to reflect on the language used by the Opposition against the Speaker. Referring to the “cash for votes” episode during the debate on the Indo-US nuclear deal during the UPA-I government, he said Somnath Chatterjee was then the Speaker with the support of the Congress and the Left. Rijiju claimed BJP MPs who acted as whistleblowers were arrested while no action was taken against those accused of offering bribes, yet the party did not move a no-confidence motion against the Speaker.

The minister also said Birla’s tenure had seen the highest number of special mentions and Rule 377 submissions in the Lok Sabha, along with initiatives such as the introduction of a paperless Parliament. Calling the notice against Birla “purely political”, Rijiju said MPs should feel proud to have served in a Lok Sabha with him as Speaker. He added that the recently formed Parliamentary Friendship Groups included members from all parties and that Birla deserved appreciation rather than a motion seeking his removal.