The no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla was defeated by voice vote in Lok Sabha amid protests by the Opposition.
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, who had moved the motion yesterday (March 10) demanded an apology from Union Home MInister Amit Shah for using unparliamentary words during his speech responding to the motion.
The motion was put to vote without Jawad's closing remarks and it was defeated by a voice vote. The House was immediately adjourned.
Earlier, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the Opposition for bringing this resolution against the Speaker Om Birla. Calling it "unfortunate" for democracy and India's parliamentary politics, he said this resolution, which comes after four decades, is not an ordinary motion.
According to Shah, there can be disagreements over a Speaker's decision but as per the rules the Speaker's decision is always considered final. "This House is not marketplace, members are expected to speak according to the rules," he stressed.
The motion has been brought against that basic understanding of the Speaker's power, asserted Shah, adding that when questions are raised on the custodian of Lok Sabha, it places a question mark before democracy and democratic institutions.
Arbiter of Parliament
"The Constitution has placed the Speaker above parties and placed him in the role of arbiter of Parliament The Opposition's motion raises questions on the very foundation of our democracy,'" said Shah.
"The House functions as per rules; what rules don't allow cannot be spoken in this House. When you ignore the rules, it is the job of the Speaker to stop you or remove you from the House... The rules have been in place since the time of Nehru," he added.
"A Speaker's decision may not be in your favour. You can express disagreement with it but you cannot question the integrity of the decision. If you question the integrity of the Speaker, you create a difficult situation because the Speaker is supposed to play the role of a mediator and arbiter; how can you question the integrity of a person who is supposed to mediate for resolutions," Shah said, stressing that the BJP, despite being in Opposition for decades, never moved a motion of no confidence against the Speaker.
Further, Shah went on to add that even the Supreme Court is not allowed to question the Speaker's decision.
"The House has to run as per a pre-decided agenda and as per rules. If you violate that, the Speaker will have to stop you. The Lok Sabha rules empower the Speaker to name, censure, suspend or even expel an MP... Can MPs be allowed to tear papers and throw them at the Speaker? Your advisors can be activists and anarchists but when you come to this House, you have to follow rules," stated Shah.
'No moral ground'
Shah continued, "Some members claim their remarks are expunged from records. The power to expunge is vested in the Speaker. If you use unparliamentary language, say things that are not allowed, why should they not be expunged. Your (Opposition's) demand here is to not expunge anything you say. Can that be allowed? You have rights but you don't have special and extraordinary rights. This is not Emergency."
"In all the past three no confidence motions, the Speakers continued to preside over the House proceedings for13 days before the discussion on the motion for their removal was taken up. Om Birla is the only Speaker who stopped presiding over proceedings the moment a motion against him was submitted. These are the high moral grounds he represents. The Opposition should not try to teach moral grounds to Birla," argued Shah.
Shah claimed that the Opposition deliberately submitted the notice seeking Birla's removal with infirmities, hoping that it would be rejected. But the Speaker asked for the notice to be corrected and didn't reject it. The second notice also only had Gaurav Gogoi's physical signature while the other two MPs had made digital signatures. The Speaker got it rectified again.
This showed the lack of seriousness and respect the Opposition has for Parliament and the high moral ground that Birla has set, Shah pointed out.
The motion, Shah said, is part of the ongoing attempts to "discredit and defame the BJP across the country by creating an impression that the Opposition's voice is being muzzled". "We have never tried to silence the Opposition. The Opposition was silenced in 1975 (Emergency) when all its leaders were put in jail," he said.
Moreover, Shah pointed out that the Business Advisory Committee had with the Opposition's consent, listed the motion for discussion on March 9 but the Opposition did not want a discussion on its own motion and disrupted proceedings to get the House adjourned. The home minister argued that 80 per cent of the Opposition's speeches on the motion against the Speaker were not actually against the Speaker but against the government. "They had nothing to say on the subject of their own motion," said Shah.
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Shah said the Deputy Speaker's post has been kept vacant "for you (Opposition parties)" and asserted, "when the previous no confidence motions against the Speaker came, you appointed your own MPs as deputy Speaker instead of appointing someone from the Opposition".
Shah slams Rahul Gandhi
Further targetting Rahul Gandhi, Shah said, "The LoP's grievance is that he is not allowed to speak. In the 18th Lok Sabha, 157 hours was given to the Congress to speak. Who from your party is allowed to speak is a decision you have to take. Why did you not speak when you had that time. You don't talk because you are travelling to Germany and other countries when Parliament is in session. You either don't speak on your own or you don't know how to speak as per the rules and then you complain that you are not allowed to speak. Even in this motion, which was brought on grounds that you (Rahul Gandhi) were not allowed to speak, you chose not to speak. If you didn't want to speak on your own motion, why did you bring this motion?".
"The LoP talked about his rights. In the 17th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 51 per cent against the national average of 78 percent. In the 16th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 52 per cent and in the 15th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 45 percent against the then national average of 76 percent," said Shah. His remarks against Rahul agitated the Congress MPs, with Congress leaderKC Venugopal retorting, "Is this a no confidence motion against the Speaker or the LoP?"
Shah said Rahul did not participate in most discussions on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address or the Union Budget and participated in the discussion on only one legislation during the 15th, 16th and 17th Lok Sabha. And, today he is complaining that he is not allowed to speak, Shah added.
Opposition MPs protest
Amid protests by Opposition MPs, Shah continued, "Rahul Gandhi is a senior leader of the Congress. It is possible that he has to travel to campaign for his party. But the mystery in his case is where was he during these absences from Parliament...? He was on foreign trips; every time there are important sessions of Parliament, he goes on foreign trips. If you are on foreign trips when Parliament is in session, how will you speak here?"
Further, Shah questioned Rahul's conduct in the House. "You come and hug the Prime Minister, you give flying kisses and wink at members sitting in the House. Is this how you conduct yourself in Parliament?" asked Shah, provoking sharp protests from the Opposition.
