TMC not to sign no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla: Sources

Congress MPs signed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla.

According to sources, if the Speaker does not allow Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak, they are set to go ahead with the no-confidence motion, but if he is allowed to speak, the party will hold back the motion.

The no-confidence motion has the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Sources said that the party has clarified that it has enough MPs to submit a no-confidence motion notice. Even if one or two parties do not support it, Congress intends to move the motion within the constitutional timeframe.

This comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging that the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir to discuss the 2020 standoff against China.

The Speaker passed a ruling, asking Gandhi not cite unpublished literature.

Speaker Om Birla had on Thursday also said he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to come to the House to prevent any unpleasant incident, as he had received information that some Congress MPs could come to the PM's seat in the House and "resort to an unprecedented incident".

However, Women MPs from the Congress on Monday wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla alleging that the ruling party forced him to make "false, baseless, and defamatory" claims against them.

The MPs said their protests in the House were peaceful and in line with parliamentary norms, but they faced unprecedented targeting.

In the letter, the MPs highlighted that during the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was repeatedly denied the opportunity to speak over four consecutive days, while a BJP MP was allowed to make "vulgar and obscene" remarks about former Prime Ministers. (ANI)