Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday announced the constitution of “Parliament Friendship Groups” with over 60 countries, in what was termed as an effort to “complement traditional diplomacy with sustained parliamentary interaction”.

A significant number of Opposition MPs from both Houses of Parliament have been included in these groups.

The initiative, said to be inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post-Operation Sindoor outreach that saw multi-party delegations visiting several countries, comes at a politically sensitive moment.

The Opposition has already moved a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, accusing him of conducting proceedings in a “blatantly partisan manner” and denying its leaders adequate opportunity to speak in the House.

The inclusion of Opposition leaders in the groups appeared to be an effort to counter the charge that political opponents of the BJP were being systematically silenced. The first half of the budget session had witnessed sharp exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi not being allowed to refer to an unpublished memoir by
former army chief Manoj Naravane.

The no-confidence motion seeking the removal of Birla is scheduled to be taken up in the Lok Sabha on March 9, the opening day of the second half of the budget session. “Amid chaos and notices, the Speaker has nominated senior Opposition leaders to head the friendship panels — a move that could shift how cross-party dialogue works in Parliament,” a source in the Speaker’s office said, indicating that the move could divide the Opposition ranks over pursuing the no-confidence motion.

A Lok Sabha secretariat statement said the friendship groups would bring together MPs from “across the political spectrum” and named several key Opposition leaders as members and group heads. From the Congress, the list includes former finance minister P. Chidambaram, Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tewari. Other INDIA bloc leaders named as group heads include T.R. Baalu of the DMK, Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress.

The countries with which friendship groups have been announced include the US, the UK, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Iran, South Africa, Australia, Bhutan and Nepal. The secretariat said the initiative seeks to enable lawmakers to engage directly with their counterparts abroad, exchange legislative experiences and build trust through sustained interaction.