The Opposition on Monday collected signatures for a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, amid parallel efforts to end the standoff triggered by Rahul Gandhi being prevented from referring to an unpublished book by
former army chief Manoj Naravane.
To try and resolve the stalemate, the leader of the Opposition met Birla in his chamber accompanied by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and the Trinamool and DMK floor leaders, Abhishek Banerjee and T.R. Baalu.
The meeting came after Rahul again tried to speak in the Lok Sabha and was barred, the resultant uproar forcing the House to adjourn for the day without transacting any business. The Treasury benches argue that a member cannot be allowed to even refer to an unpublished book in the House.
Amid the talks with the Speaker, the Congress-led Opposition prepared to move a no-confidence motion against him. Trinamool and the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP were learnt not to have signed the notice yet.
Opposition sources accused Birla of acting in a partisan manner. They underlined that while denying Rahul an opportunity to speak, the Speaker had allowed BJP member Nishikant Dubey to make what they described as derogatory remarks against the Nehru-Gandhi family in the House.
A group of women Congress MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, wrote to the Speaker accusing him of making “false, baseless and defamatory allegations” against them under “sustained pressure from the ruling party”.
Birla had last week told the House that he had advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi against attending the Lok Sabha on February 5, citing “credible information” that some women Congress MPs might approach his seat and engage in “unforeseen” actions.
Modi subsequently skipped his scheduled reply to the motion of thanks to the President’s address.
In their letter to Birla, the Congress MPs denied they had posed a threat to the Prime Minister.
“We are being targeted simply because we have consistently fought against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-people government and demanded accountability from him,” the letter said.
“His absence from the House was not due to any threat from us; it was an act of fear.”
Apart from Priyanka, the signatories included Jyothimani, R. Sudha, Varsha Gaikwad and Jyotsna Mahant.
After meeting the Speaker, Rahul told reporters that the impasse would be resolved if he was allowed to raise in the House what he described as the silencing of the Opposition, the free hand given to the ruling party to speak, and the “most disturbing issue” of the allegedly false claim that Opposition MPs had posed a threat to the Prime Minister.
“The understanding now is that tomorrow we will be allowed to raise these points and that a discussion (on the budget) will follow,” he said.
“We are keen for the discussion to take place. We want the debate to happen, but we will now have to see what the government says.”
Sources said Birla had assured the Opposition leaders that he would discuss their demands with the Treasury benches and get back. However, Opposition sources said the indications so far were that the ruling side might not agree to let Rahul speak.
A Congress MP said: “If Rahul Gandhi is not allowed to speak tomorrow, the Opposition will be compelled to move a no-confidence notice against the Speaker. We have already collected the signatures of many MPs.”
Expressing doubts over the government’s intent, Rahul said he believed the ruling dispensation was “afraid of a debate”.
He alleged that the Prime Minister had skipped the House out of fear of facing the Opposition, and of being presented with Naravane’s book.
Rahul claimed the government was uneasy about a budget debate during which issues such as the US trade deal and its consequences and impact on farmers would be raised.
Responding to Rahul, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the leader of the Opposition would be allowed to speak if the Congress agreed to let the House function smoothly and permit others to speak as well.
“I had given a commitment to the Congress party in front of the Speaker that if Congress agrees to let the House function normally, then we will allow Congress and other parties to speak on how to run the House,” he told reporters.
“I can’t agree to a situation where Rahul Gandhi speaks and makes accusations, creates a ruckus and then does not let others speak.”