New Delhi: While several opposition parties have joined hands to move a resolution to remove Om Birla as the Lok Sabha speaker, there have been similar attempts in the past but none have been successful.
A notice to bring the resolution was submitted by opposition members on Tuesday, February 10. Sources in the Lok Sabha secretariat said the notice will be examined and processed according to rules.
This is how the resolution is moved, approved, permitted and disposed of, and why no such resolution has ever been successful in the past:
At least two Lok Sabha members have to sign the notice to move a resolution for the speaker’s removal. Any number of members can sign the notice but a minimum of two is mandatory.
The speaker can be removed from office by a resolution passed by the House through a simple majority. Article 94C of the Constitution has provisions for such a move.
“All the members of the House are counted to compute the majority, not the members present and voting, which is the normal practice. It means the effective membership of the House, except for the vacancies, is used to calculate the majority,” former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary told PTI.
The notice has to be submitted to the Lok Sabha secretary general, and not the deputy speaker or anyone else, he said.
The document is then examined at the preliminary stage to see whether it contains “very specific charges”, he said.
“At the threshold itself, there is a process of admissibility. At that stage, it is seen whether it contains specific charges. Specific charges are required as only then the speaker will be able to respond,” Achary explained.
Resolution cannot have defamatory language
The resolution must not contain defamatory language or content.
Article 96 gives the speaker the opportunity to defend himself or herself in the House.
The language of the proposed resolution is usually examined by the deputy speaker, but since the present Lok Sabha does not have a deputy speaker, it may be examined perhaps by the senior-most member of the panel of chairpersons.
The panel helps the speaker run the House in his or her absence.
“The speaker examining a resolution that seeks his removal looks absurd,” Achary said, adding that the rule is silent on the subject.
Once the processing part is over, the resolution reaches the House. But it can go to the House after 14 days, Achary said.
The speaker cannot preside the House while the resolution for his removal from office is under consideration, according to Article 96.
The chair then places it in the House for consideration. It is actually the House which admits it, or as the rule says, “grants permission”.
Achary further said, “The chair then asks members in favour of the resolution to stand up. If 50 members stand up in support of it and if the criteria is fulfilled, the speaker announces that the House has granted permission. Once the House grants permission, it has to be taken up for discussion and disposed of within 10 days.”
Government has majority – reason why no resolutions have been adopted
There are precedents of resolutions being moved. However, none has been adopted so far.
“The reason — governments have a majority,” Achary said.
The resolution alleges that Speaker Birla had acted in a “blatantly partisan” manner in conducting the business of the House and “abused” the constitutional office he occupies.
The Opposition also accused the speaker of making certain false allegations against members of the Congress.
Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice under Article 94 C of the Constitution to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK.
Sources said the notice was signed by around 120 MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Samajwadi Party, Left parties and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Shiv Sena UBT and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) have also signed the notice.
Rahul Gandhi has reportedly not signed the notice
The TMC is not a signatory to the notice. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has also not signed the notice, sources said.
On several occasions, leaders of opposition parties have just not been allowed to speak, which is their basic democratic right in Parliament, the notice said.
The notice also cited that on February 2, Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to complete his speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. This is not an isolated instance. The leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is almost invariably not allowed to speak, it claimed.
On February 3, eight opposition MPs were “arbitrarily suspended” for the entire Budget session and are being penalised merely for exercising their democratic rights, the notice said.
On February 4, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP was permitted to make wholly objectionable and personalised attacks on two former prime ministers without being reprimanded even once for disregarding established conventions and norms of propriety, it said, in an apparent reference to Nishikant Dubey’s remarks.
“In spite of our request, no action has been taken against this particular MP, who is a habitual offender,” they said.
The notice also referred to Birla’s remarks that he had “concrete information” that many Congress members might move towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat and carry out “some unexpected act” as a result of which he had requested him not to come to the House to reply to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
