Amid the standoff between Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and opposition MPs, Congress on Tuesday invoked former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and cited a December 1954 discussion in the House over a non-confidence motion against the Speaker and remarked that the Parliament has become a "faint shadow of its former self.'
The party’s remarks come amid the Opposition decision to move a resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla from office.
In apparent comparison to the recent events in Parliament, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited an interaction between Nehru and then Deputy Speaker in 1954, and wrote in a post on X, “The Parliament that Nehru built by sitting, speaking, listening, and accommodating is now a pale shadow of its former self.”
Ramesh shared an exchange between Nehru and the Deputy Speaker during a debate on the resolution to remove the Speaker.
"On the afternoon of December 18, 1954, the Lok Sabha took up a Resolution moved by the Opposition for the removal of the Speaker (GV Mavalankar),” the post read.
Ramesh went on to share the transcript of the interaction: "Deputy Speaker: The House will now take up the Resolution."
"Nehru: Sir, may I make a submission to the House? You were pleased to allot two hours for this discussion.
Deputy Speaker: Yes, from 3.30 PM to 5.30 PM.
Nehru: Normally, you do adopt some kind of proportion, but I should like to submit that in this particular case, more time should be allowed to the Opposition than to the Government Benches. We do not wish to take too much time, and I hope hon. Members on this side will not take too much time of the House in their speeches. Naturally, we will have to say something, which we will do. But I would submit for your consideration that the Opposition should have more time.”
He pointed out that in the First Lok Sabha, the Indian National Congress held 364 of the 489 seats.
"And this was the approach of the then Prime Minister when there was not even a recognised Leader of the Opposition. The Parliament that Nehru built up day-after-day by sitting, speaking, listening, and accommodating is now a pale shadow of its former self," Ramesh said.
The post comes amid heightened tensions between the Speaker and the Opposition, which is planning to move a no-confidence motion, days after he accused some Congress MPs of plotting an "unforeseen act" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament.
The decision was taken at a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, on Monday morning. The bloc also decided to take part in the Budget discussion.
The Congress has reportedly collected 106 MPs’ signatures for the motion. However, it has been learnt that the Trinamool Congress did not attend the meeting.
The move to seek Birla’s removal stems from the disallowing of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders from speaking during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, as well as the suspension of eight MPs.
Opposition leaders had earlier warned that, with no conciliatory steps from the government, protests would escalate over the denial of Rahul Gandhi’s chance to speak in the House, potentially derailing debates on the Union Budget 2026–27.
Opposition parties, led by the Congress has been protesting inside and outside the Parliament against the Speaker refusing to allow Rahul Gandhi to speak on former Army Chief General MM Naravane's unpublished 'memoir', in which he makes some statements involving PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in connection with the 2020 India-China standoff.
Eight Congress MPs were suspended by the Speaker on February 3, amid continuous protests demanding to let the LoP speak on the issue.
