The no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was defeated by a voice vote on Wednesday amid uproar in the House, after the Opposition seized on an allegedly unparliamentary remark by home minister Amit Shah and rushed into the Well, raising slogans and demanding an apology.
Amid the din, the motion was put to vote and defeated by a voice vote.
Shah's response to the debate was a departure from the precedent of the Prime Minister doing so on similar motions on two previous occasions — 1954 and 1987.
In 1954, first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had responded to the debate on the no-confidence motion against then Speaker G.V. Mavalankar. In 1987, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had replied to the motion against Speaker Balram Jakhar.
Shah’s role in leading the government’s defence was widely seen as another signal of projecting the second most powerful leader in the current dispensation as a potential successor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi was absent from the House, addressing rallies in poll-bound Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, officially the government’s number two, was present in the House when Shah led the charge against the Opposition.
Shah’s attempt to position himself as the lead defender of the Treasury benches, however, took an awkward turn when he sought to attack the conduct of the leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. Arguing that the Opposition had no moral authority to question the Speaker’s conduct, Shah said its own leaders had behaved in a manner unbecoming of Parliament.
“The Opposition talks about the conduct of the Speaker, but they should also speak about the conduct of their own members. It has never happened in the history of Parliament that their leader runs towards the Treasury benches to hug the Prime Minister, blows flying kisses and winks at his members. I am… feeling constrained to say these things,” Shah said, targeting Rahul.
Shah was referring to the 2018 incident when Rahul had walked across the aisle to hug Prime Minister Modi during a debate and then winked at fellow MPs. However, in the flow of his remarks, Shah uttered a cuss word while saying he felt awkward recounting those actions before the House.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra rushed to the Well of the House, demanding that the home minister apologise. Soon, most Opposition MPs — many of them women —joined her, raising slogans of “Amit Shah maafi maango (seek an apology)”. Presiding officer and BJP member Jagadambika Pal accused Moitra of provoking the Opposition.
Shah told the Chair that if he had used any objectionable word, it should be expunged from the record. The Opposition, however, refused to relent and continued sloganeering, demanding an apology. Amid the din, Shah hurried through the remainder of his speech before the no-confidence motion against the Speaker was put to a voice vote and defeated.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit back at Shah after the uproar in the Lok Sabha, saying the debate had been diverted from the issue at hand. “The no-confidence motion was against the Speaker, not Rahulji. He should have spoken on that issue. He used an apshabd (unparliamentary word) in the House but the Chair did not object to it,” the Wayanad MP told reporters outside the House.
Before the ruckus, Shah had mounted a sharp attack on the leader of the Opposition, who has repeatedly accused the Speaker of not allowing him to speak in the House. Shah alleged that Rahul was often absent from proceedings and sought to speak in violation of established rules.
“The LoP says he is not allowed to speak, that his voice is stifled. But when there is an opportunity to speak, he is in Germany, in England… Whenever there is a budget discussion, he seems to be abroad. Then he complains that he is not allowed to speak,” Shah said.
He added: “How can he speak from a foreign country? There is no video-conference facility here, otherwise he could have participated remotely.” He also said that Rahul had not spoken during the debate on the no-confidence motion, questioning his seriousness.
Shah claimed that during the previous Lok Sabha (2019-24), Congress members had spoken for “157 hours and 55 minutes”.
“How much did the LoP speak? Why did you not speak? Which Speaker stopped you? Nobody can. Misinformation is spread to defame the Lok Sabha,” he said, adding: “He doesn’t want to speak.”
Earlier in the day, Rahul had briefly intervened in the debate, alleging that his voice had been stifled whenever he attempted to speak.