Opposition Plans No-Confidence Motion Against Speaker Om Birla Amid Lok Sabha Standoff

NEW DELHI, Feb 9: Opposition MPs are planning to move a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, sources said on Monday, amid allegations that Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.

The move follows repeated protests by Opposition parties, who claim that Rahul Gandhi was denied an opportunity to present his views on the floor of the House.

Last week, the Lok Sabha witnessed sloganeering and disruptions after Rahul Gandhi cited what he described as former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane’s “unpublished” memoir while referring to the 2020 standoff with China. The Speaker ruled that unpublished literature could not be cited and disallowed Gandhi from proceeding further.

On February 5, Speaker Birla said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House that day to avoid any untoward incident, claiming he had received information that some Congress MPs might approach the Prime Minister’s seat and “resort to an unprecedented incident.”

On Monday, Lok Sabha proceedings were disrupted once again, with no legislative business conducted as Speaker Birla adjourned the House till 12 noon amid Opposition sloganeering over demands for a discussion on the India–US interim trade framework, leading to the disruption of Question Hour.

The House was adjourned barely seven minutes after the week’s proceedings began. As Question Hour commenced, Opposition members continued raising slogans, demanding that their issues be taken up for discussion.

Appealing for order, Speaker Birla urged members to maintain decorum, stating that there would be no bar on any MP speaking on the floor of the House. Criticising the disruptions, he said, “Do you want to adjourn the House? Do you not want to work? The House is for debate and discussion. Please raise issues—everyone will get a chance to speak.”

As the sloganeering continued, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings till noon.

Both Houses of Parliament were scheduled to continue discussions on the Union Budget 2026–27 on Monday. The Budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, marking her ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation in the Lok Sabha. (Agencies)