Last Updated on March 12, 2026 12:14 am by INDIAN AWAAZ
Staff Reporter
The Lok Sabha on Wednesday rejected a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla by a voice vote after nearly 13 hours of debate, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly defending the Speaker and criticising the opposition’s conduct in the House.
Replying to the discussion, HM Shah said the motion was an “unfortunate incident for parliamentary politics”, noting that a no-confidence motion against a Lok Sabha Speaker had come after nearly four decades.
“The Speaker of the Lok Sabha does not belong to any particular party but to the entire House and is the protector of the rights of all members. Bringing a no-confidence motion against the Speaker is not an act of courage,” HM Shah said.
Debate lasted 13 hours with 42 MPs participating
The Home Minister said that members from both treasury and opposition benches participated in the discussion before the House rejected the motion.
“This is not an ordinary event. A no-confidence motion against the Speaker has come after nearly four decades,” HM Shah said, adding that questioning the integrity of the Speaker raises doubts about India’s democratic institutions.
“The Lok Sabha is the largest democratic forum of India and has earned credibility not only in India but across the world. When the integrity of the head of this forum is questioned, it raises doubts about our democratic processes.”
‘Speaker is custodian of the House’
Defending Birla’s role, HM Shah said the Constitution places the office of the Speaker above party lines.
“The Speaker is not merely a presiding officer but a symbol of our legislative consciousness and the dignity of democracy,” he said.
He added that the functioning of the House is governed by established rules and procedures.
“There are rules for speaking in Parliament; it is not a fair or a gathering where one can speak in any manner they wish,” HM Shah said.
He stressed that when members violate the rules, the Speaker has a duty to intervene.
“If the rules of the House do not permit something, no one has the right to speak against those rules. It is the sacred duty of the Speaker to intervene and restrain such conduct.”
Opposition speeches ‘not related to the motion’
HM Shah criticised the opposition for allegedly using the motion as a platform to attack the government. “Nearly 80 per cent of the speeches made by opposition leaders were not about the no-confidence motion. They just used the Speaker as a pretext to speak against the government,” he said.
Criticism of Leader of the Opposition
Without naming him directly, HM Shah targeted the Leader of the Opposition, saying he had failed to speak during the debate.“Under the leadership of the LoP, the opposition brought a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker, but now the Leader of the Opposition himself did not speak on it,” HM Shah said.
He also accused the opposition leader of frequently being abroad during parliamentary proceedings.
“Not speaking when given time in the House and then stepping outside to complain that one was not allowed to speak—this tendency of the LoP has now been exposed,” he said.
“When discussions take place in the House, the LoP is often on foreign tours. It is not possible to make special video conferencing arrangements from abroad for him to participate in the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.”
HM Shah cited several instances when the opposition leader was abroad during parliamentary sessions.
“Whether it is travelling to Germany during the Winter Session of 2017, Vietnam during the Budget Session of 2025, or being in the United Kingdom during the Budget Session of 2023, the LoP remains abroad during crucial proceedings and then complains about not being allowed to speak.”
Attendance and speaking time
The Home Minister said the opposition had been given adequate speaking time in Parliament.“In the 17th Lok Sabha, the opposition party was given about 158 hours to speak despite having only 52 members, while our party with 303 members received 349 hours,” he said.
“In the 18th Lok Sabha so far, the opposition has spoken for 71 hours despite having 99 members, which on a pro-rata basis is much higher than the time allotted to our party.”He also questioned the attendance of the opposition leader.
“The attendance of the LoP in Parliament of India is much lower than the national average,” HM Shah said.
Amid the noisy scenes, the Home Minister said, NDA government has never tried to suppress the voice of the opposition. He accused that the voice of the opposition was suppressed in 1975, when the entire opposition was thrown into jail during the Emergency. He said, opposition does not follow the rules, but complain that they do not get chance to speak.
Speaking on the interim trade deal between India and USA, the Minister stressed that farmers’ interests will not be compromised during any trade deal. During the Home Minister’s speech, opposition parties’ MPs trooped into the well and raised slogans against the government.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, Ravi Shankar Prasad of BJP said, the opposition has brought this resolution to satisfy the ego of some leaders of opposition parties. He said, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi should be careful about his words, when he speaks abroad. Mr Prasad alleged that Mr Gandhi makes remarks against India’s Constitution, Parliament, and the Election Commission. He said, Leader of opposition is part of the House but the conduct of leader of opposition is equally responsible. Mr Prasad said that in the past 72 years, a debate on a no-confidence motion against the Speaker has taken place only twice.
Responding to Mr Prasad in the House, Mr. Gandhi accused that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions. He said, the House does not belong to one party but to the entire country.
K C Venugopal of Congress said, the resolution is related to the fundamental principle of democracy and to protect the parliamentary democracy in the country. He alleged that whenever the opposition member stands to speak, the mic was switched off. He said, Parliament is a forum to debate and discuss but the speaker does not give the opportunity to the opposition to raise the matter which is important for the country.
Anand Bhadauria of the Samajwadi Party said that the opposition parties have brought this resolution to protect the dignity of the Chair of the Lok Sabha. He said, the Speaker has given time to opposition members to speak, but at the same time, Mr Birla tried to suppress the voice of Leader of the Opposition in the House.
Anurag Singh Thakur of BJP said that during the discussion, most of the MPs praised Om Birla and acknowledged that he had allowed them to speak. He said that leaders of opposition parties, especially the Congress, behaved improperly with the Speaker when they went to his office. Mr Thakur however, said that the Speaker did not take any action about their behaviour. Mr. Thakur said that during the discussion in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi violated the rules. He alleged that Mr. Gandhi considers himself above the rules and the law. He added that the House functions on the established norms. Mr Thakur said, this resolution is not against the speaker but this is against the discipline, procedure and equality. JDS leader Mallesh Babu said that this resolution clearly indicates that it is political in nature. He expressed displeasure over the conduct of the protesting MPs in the House saying that throwing papers towards the Chair and levelling accusations against the Speaker is not good for decorum of the House.
Congress MP Dr Mohammad Jawed had moved the resolution yesterday. He has alleged that Speaker Om Birla disallowed the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and other opposition leaders from putting forth their views in the House and made unwarranted allegations against women MPs of the Opposition. Mr Jawed also alleged that Mr Birla failed to maintain the impartiality needed to command the confidence of all sections of the House.