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INDIA bloc raises concern over ‘politicisation’ of Speaker Om Birla’s remarks on Rahul Gandhi

Opposition MPs cite eight issues of parliamentary conduct and ask which incident Om Birla was referring to when he spoke of the need to maintain dignity in the Lok Sabha.

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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts proceedings during the Budget session of Parliament, in Delhi. (Source: Sansad TV via PTI Photo)

A day after a face-off in the Lok Sabha over Speaker Om Birla abruptly adjourning the House after noting that members, especially Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, should conduct themselves “in a manner that maintains the high standards and dignity” of Parliament, a delegation of INDIA bloc parties met Birla on Thursday and raised concerns over a range of issues, including the “politicisation of the statement made by Birla outside the House”.

A letter was submitted by the delegation to Birla, which The Indian Express has learnt contained eight broad points, including “non-appointment of Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha”, “denial of speaking opportunity to the Leader of Opposition (LoP)”, and “disregard for Business Advisory Committee (BAC) decisions”. The other issues raised in the letter were “neglect and rejection of adjournment motions”, “neglect of Private Members’ Bills and resolutions”, “exclusion of key ministries in Budget and Demand for Grants discussions”, “lack of discussions under Rule 193” (which allows for a discussion on matters of urgent public importance without voting), and “microphones of Opposition members being switched off”.

Floor leaders of Opposition parties, including the Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi, the DMK’s A Raja, the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, the TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, and NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, met Birla. Representatives of the RJD, IUML, MDMK and RSP were also present at the meeting.

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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Gogoi, Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, said, “We expressed our shared issues about the way the party in power is going against Parliament’s rules, conventions and culture of the House… We submitted a letter. We raised the issue that the Speaker read his statement yesterday. It wasn’t clear which subject and moment he was talking about. He said that members, and especially the LoP, should follow Rule 349, but he did not clarify which specific incident he was referring to. We saw that outside in the evening, this incident was politicised and propaganda was spread. We told the Speaker the same thing—that his statement was being politicised outside the House.”

Asked if the Speaker divulged what he was referring to on Wednesday when he spoke of maintaining “dignity in the House”, Gogoi said, “I don’t think it is suitable to discuss what the Speaker said in the meeting.”

On Wednesday, when the House was abruptly adjourned, Rahul Gandhi spoke to reporters in the Parliament complex and said the “House was not being run as per democratic norms” and claimed that as the LoP, he was not allowed to speak in the House.

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

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