The Opposition on Monday decided to move a resolution to remove Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla from office for disallowing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi from speaking in the House during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address.

Sources said the resolution is being moved under Article 94-C of the Constitution. The notice seeks the Speaker’s removal for disallowing the LoP from speaking on the Motion of Thanks, for not initiating action against BJP MP Nishikand Dubey, and for making unsubstantiated charges against women MPs of the Congress.

A statutory resolution in this regard is expected to be moved in the Lok Sabha soon. The motion requires the signatures of at least 100 MPs, and signatures of various Opposition members are currently being collected, sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Opposition leaders held in the chamber of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday morning. Leaders from the Trinamool Congress, Left parties, DMK, Samajwadi Party, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and RSP attended the meeting.

Amid reports that the Opposition may move a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, the Congress said there “is no space for opposition” in the Lok Sabha and asked observers to “wait for action”.

Congress MP K C Venugopal alleged that Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders were not being allowed to air their views in the Lower House, while the government side was free to speak and make derogatory remarks.

Asked about the reports, Venugopal said, “You see what is happening in Parliament. You can see in this session, the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, is not being allowed to speak anything in this House.”

“The government side can speak anything. They can attack anybody, speak derogatory things, even against those who are not alive. The Speaker is making allegations against Congress women MPs. There is no space for opposition in this house at all,” he told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

“Whether it is the LoP or other opposition leaders, they are not being allowed to speak. This type of attitude toward the opposition has not been there at any time,” Venugopal said.

On whether the Opposition would move such a motion, he said, “after action you will get to know”, adding that the entire Opposition was united.

“Cannot comment on reports, wait for action,” he said.

Venugopal’s remarks came after the Opposition floor leaders’ meeting in Kharge’s chamber to finalise a joint strategy for the coming days.

SP MP Dimple Yadav said, "Whatever senior INDIA bloc leaders decide, opposition will stick to it. The comments of ruling party leaders are never expunged, the mics of opposition leaders are always cut off."

The latest developments follow an unprecedented episode last week when the Lok Sabha passed the Motion of Thanks without Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s customary reply, which had been scheduled a day earlier, amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members.

Last Thursday, an anguished Speaker said he had “concrete information” that several Congress members might move towards the Prime Minister’s seat and carry out “some unexpected act”, prompting him to request Modi not to come to the House for his reply. When the House reassembled after three adjournments, Birla said that if such an incident had occurred, it would have left the country’s democratic traditions in “shreds”.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, however, dismissed the claim, saying it was an “absolute lie” that there was any plan to hurt the Prime Minister, and alleged that Modi was “hiding behind” the Speaker.