Rahul disqualification: Cong moots no-confidence motion against Speaker
According to sources on Tuesday (March 28), the Congress is reportedly discussing the possibility of presenting a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla due to allegations of his bias. The party is said to be engaging with other opposition parties on the matter.
The motion is likely to be brought on Monday in the Lok Sabha but some parties are opposed to the move, saying it may hurt the momentum of opposition unity.
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The no-confidence motion will highlight the pace at which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as MP by the Speaker — within hours of his conviction by a Surat court in a defamation case over his remarks on the prime minister’s surname.
The sources said the no-confidence motion can only be brought when the house is in order.
Sources in the opposition camp said such a motion requires signatures and support of 50 MPs but they apprehended that the motion may not be allowed to be moved on the ground that the house is not in order.
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The Lok Sabha has been witnessing uproarious scenes since the start of the second leg of the budget session on March 13 with opposition benches demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue and the BJP seeking Rahul Gandhi’s apology over his remarks made abroad which they allege was an insult to India and its institutions on foreign soil.
Sources said a no-confidence motion was brought in August 1963 against the Nehru government by Acharya Kripalani.
No-confidence motions have been brought against the Narasimha Rao government and the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as well, they said.
Cong to reach out
The Congress is also reaching out to various Opposition parties, including Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), TMC, BRS and AAP, to come together for a Save Democracy rally, likely to be organised at Delhi’s Ram Lila Maidan in mid-April (possibly on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr. BR Ambedkar, if all works out).
Rahul will also personally write to leaders of all Opposition parties who condemned his disqualification. The letter is likely to be sent latest by tomorrow and may also push for Opposition unity against the BJP to “save democracy”.
Congress sources say concerns raised by Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) over Rahul’s “I am not Savarkar” remark have also been addressed following a conversation between Rahul and Sena leader Sanjay Raut. Rahul and Congress leaders to refrain from making any derogatory remarks against Savarkar in public/political events.
(With agency inputs)
