The discussion on the no-confidence motion began on Tuesday with sharp exchanges over procedure, including objections from AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP KC Venugopal, who said that the House should elect a member who would preside over the debate. They questioned how the choice was made of who would be in the Chair from the panel of Chairpersons.
Initiating the debate, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the resolution was meant to safeguard parliamentary dignity and was not driven by personal animosity. "This resolution has been brought as a responsibility to protect the dignity of the House, not personally against Om Birla," Gogoi said.
He also took a swipe at Rijiju, remarking that parliamentary records would show the minister frequently interrupting Opposition members.
In his remarks, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said he has "no cure" if one believes themselves to be above the Speaker in the House. He suggested that Congress could have chosen Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as its leader in the House.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit back at Rijiju and said Rahul Gandhi makes fearless attacks on the government on issues concerning people.
"There is only one person in the country who has not bowed down before them in the last 12 years. It is the Leader of the Opposition. They cannot digest the truth he speaks," she said.
The resolution seeking the removal of Om Birla as Speaker was defeated in Lok Sabha by a voice vote.
Amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition seeking an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated.
Pal urged the opposition to take their seats so that he could put the motion to vote.
But as the protests continued, he sought the vote of the House and the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, following which he adjourned the House for the day.
Opposition broke into protest, shouting slogans, "Amit Shah maafi mango", demanding an apology as Shah made a statement on Rahul Gandhi's attendance from the 15th to the 17th Lok Sabha.
“In 17th Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s attendance was 51 percent, average was 66 percent; in 16th LS, his attendance was 52 percent, average was 80 percent," Shah said.
Shah said in India's parliamentary history, three times a no-confidence motion against the speaker of the Lok Sabha was introduced in the House, but neither the BJP nor the NDA has ever brought such a motion.
He said that for 75 years, the two Houses of Parliament have deepened the foundation of the country's democracy, but the opposition now has, in a way, cast a question mark on this credibility.
"The House runs on mutual trust. For both the ruling side and the opposition, the speakers of the House serve as custodians. That is why rules have been made. This House is not some fair or festival. Here, one must proceed according to the rules. No one has the right to speak in a manner that the rules of the House do not permit, no matter who they are," he said.
The home minister said it is highly regrettable and condemnable when the opposition questions the integrity of a decision by the speaker.
"This is a very unfortunate. To oppose the government, you are raising questions on the speaker, who is a symbol of the dignity of democracy," he said, hitting out at the opposition.
Shah said the speaker has the right to expunge unparliamentary words, and any such language must be removed from parliamentary records.
"I want to say that you can protect your rights, but those who live under the illusion of privilege are not protected by their party or the public either. that's why they are diminishing," he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Lok Sabha speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition, and asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party, as he slammed the no-confidence resolution brought against Om Birla.
Responding to a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the resolution moved by the opposition for the removal of Birla as the speaker, Shah said it is not an ordinary occurrence as after nearly four decades, such a motion has been brought against the speaker.
He said it was unfortunate for Parliamentary politics that some opposition parties were questioning the integrity of the speaker.
Shah said the BJP has been in opposition for the longest period of time, but the party has never brought a no-confidence motion against the speaker.
"According to the established history of this House, its proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust. The speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition. It is unfortunate for parliamentary politics that a resolution for the removal of the speaker has come," he said.
While speaking during a debate in the lower house on the resolution to remove Birla as Speaker, several opposition MPs claimed that they were not getting the protection that they should from the chair and disruption of their speech by treasury benches had become the norm.
RJD's Abhay Kumar Sinha said, "I have to say with regret, and for some time ago, the chair no longer represents independence of the House but has become a symbol of the ruling party's tyranny. The chair has lost that impartiality which (Jawaharlal) Nehru ji and other makers of our Constitution expected."
"This House even saw the black day when over 140 MPs were suspended in a day. Real democracy is the one in which even the poorest and the weakest feel that their voice can be heard...Here, whenever an (opposition) MP gets up to speak, what he gets from that side (Speaker) is No, No, No," Sinha said on Wednesday.
Vijay Kumar Hansdak of the JMM said it is the Speaker's second term and the most spoken word in the House after Nehru is "No".
"When opposition MPs speak, they are disrupted, and that has become a tradition. Another tradition is that while MPs speak, the camera moves in another direction," Handsak said.
Speaking on the resolution on Tuesday, Bajrang Manohar Sonwane of the NCP (SP) said, "Nobody is making any personal attack on Birla ji. We all know what will happen in voting, but we brought this no-confidence to highlight democratic rights that we have."
"Like a table fan gives cooling only on one side... When Birla ji looks right, he has a smile and when he looks the other side, 'No, No, No.' You are doing the same thing, my party has given me time to speak," he said, while addressing Sandhya Ray, who was in the chair.
BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur on Wednesday accused the opposition of making false allegations and described Om Birla as an impartial speaker who gave all the members chance to speak in the House.
Participating in a debate in Lok Sabha on the resolution to remove Birla from the speaker's post, the former Union minister alleged that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was in fact a "Leader of Propaganda" who was tarnishing the image of institutions just to stay in the headlines.
"Rahul Gandhi thinks the rules are not for him, but he is the rule...One family thinks that it is above the rules and procedures of the House and above the Constitution," Thakur alleged.
Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh on Wednesday claimed that "hardly any democracy is left" in Parliament as the voice of the opposition members has been "curbed" and MPs have been forced to fight for their own rights in the House.
Participating in the debate on the resolution for the removal of Om Birla from the Speaker's post, Ghosh said she had nothing personal against Birla, and there have been no personal grievances against him.
"But this is a question of impartiality and dignity. There is hardly any democracy left in Parliament. Our opinions are thrashed. How can we fight for the people when we are fighting for our own rights?" she said.
Congress leader K C Venugopal on Wednesday alleged that Speaker Om Birla's hands were "tied" by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, forcing him to act according to the ruling party's wishes.
Participating in the debate on the resolution for the removal of Birla from the Speaker's post, Venugopal criticised him for making allegations against the women MPs, stating that Birla claimed to have "concrete information" suggesting that some Congress MPs might carry out an "unexpected act" by approaching the spot where Modi sits.
"This was a very defamatory and most irresponsible statement," Venugopal said
There is no disbelief on the Speaker; motion has been moved to satisfy someone’s ego, says Ravi Shankar Prasad
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interjected a Lok Sabha debate on the resolution to remove Om Birla as Speaker, saying that he was stopped from speaking in the House on multiple occasions.
Responding to BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited parliamentary procedures to say that the leader of the opposition should measure his words carefully, especially on issues of national security, Gandhi said the House does not belong to any party but the entire country.
"Whenever we get up to speak, we are stopped.
Lok Sabha does not belong to one party but to the entire country," he said.
“Discussion about democratic process and role of Speaker but multiple times my name is being raised, things being said about me,” says Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha.
VIDEO | Parliament Session: "Discussion about democratic process and role of Speaker but multiple times my name is being raised, things being said about me," says Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) in Lok Sabha.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 11, 2026
(Source: Third Party)
(Full video… pic.twitter.com/zXGUJpCv9g
The Lok Sabha resumed its discussion on the resolution against Speaker Om Birla.
“Let the instrument of Opposition against the Speaker not be weaponised to satisfy the ego of some leader or some group,” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
“11 MPs who had taken money to ask certain questions were expelled from this same parliament and no one made a protest. In the same House, there was a time when black pepper was thrown in the House,” he said.
“There was one brave judge, H.R. Khanna, who decided from ADM Jabalpur that during an Emergency, people’s fundamental rights will not be taken away. The Congress party did not even allow him to stay Chief Justice for even 45 days,” he said.
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Wednesday following vociferous protests by opposition members over various issues, including the hike in LPG prices.
As soon as the House met for the day, opposition members raised various issues and shouted slogans.
Several of them took to sloganeering in the Well of the House.
When it was Congress member Kumari Selja's turn to ask a question, she just remarked that the government should first reduce the LPG price.
Congress MPs on Wednesday protested in the Parliament premises over the alleged shortage of commercial LPG cylinder across the country. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined the protest. The Opposition MPs carried the banners saying, "PM is compromised."
The INDIA bloc leaders have sought a discussion on the reported shortage of LPG amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar submitted a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss the reported shortage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders across the country amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
Giving the notice, the MP flagged the longer waiting period and price hike for LPG cylinders, saying that the shortage had created "immense hardship" for the citizens.
He said that the Upper House of the Parliament should be informed about the "actual status of LPG reserves, the steps taken to ensure uninterrupted supply, and the contingency measures being adopted to protect consumers from shortages and price shocks."
