The Opposition MPs may bring a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, sources said on Monday. This comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging that the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President's Address.
The decision was reportedly taken during a meeting of the INDIA bloc floor leaders at the office of Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament House complex. Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was also present.'
When and why does the opposition want to bring no confidence motion?
According to sources, the opposition is expected to bring a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker during the second part of the Budget Session, as the move requires a 20-day notice period.
The opposition has identified several grounds for the motion, including: Lok Sabha LoP not allowed to speak during debates; the naming of women MPs by the Chair; the consistent privilege given to certain Treasury Bench MPs; and the suspension of eight opposition MPs for the remainder of the session.
Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "As per the Parliamentary rules, the Leader of Opposition is a shadow Prime Minister. But here, the LoP is not being allowed to speak in the House. The government can say anything and attack anyone... the Speaker is himself making allegations against the Congress women MPs, but there is no space for the opposition in this House at all, and they are not even allowed. This kind of attitude against the opposition never happened before. We will wait for the action."
"The US-India trade deal was somewhat shocking, and the Leader of Opposition wants to mention a few things about it to the Speaker, but that was also not allowed. The government wants to preserve the Parliament for itself," he added.
No confidence in the Speaker
The Congress has expressed no confidence in the Speaker and demanded the revocation of the suspension of eight MPs. Senior Congress leader Sanjay Jha said that the Opposition has no issues left to raise after the suspension.
Last week, the Lower House witnessed sloganeering and disruption when Rahul Gandhi cited former Army Chief General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir to discuss the 2020 standoff with China. The Speaker ruled that Gandhi could not reference unpublished material and denied him permission to proceed.
Eight Opposition MPs suspended
Earlier, eight opposition members were suspended for the remainder of the Budget Session for violating rules and "throwing papers on the chair" following the uproar. The suspended MPs include Congress members Hibi Eden, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Manickam Tagore, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Prashant Yadaorao Padole, Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Dean Kuriakose, and CPI(M) MP S Venkatesan.
On February 5, Speaker Birla revealed he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to attend the House to prevent any "unprecedented incident," as he had received intelligence that some Congress MPs might approach the PM's seat.
The Budget Session has witnessed multiple disruptions in recent days, with Opposition parties pressing for debates on various matters. Both Houses were scheduled to continue discussions on the Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, marking her ninth consecutive budget presentation in the Lok Sabha.
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