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Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Monday accused Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of abandoning neutrality and suppressing Opposition voices during the previous budget session, alleging that there is a plot to bar "240 MPs of the Opposition".
The second phase of the Parliament's Budget Session opened today with Congress MPs scheduled to move a resolution seeking the removal of the Lok Sabha Speaker. Speaking to ANI, Tagore said, "A Speaker should act in a neutral manner, which is not happening. The Speaker doesn't let the Opposition members speak. LoP Rahul Gandhi should be allowed to speak. Opposition MPs were suspended, and allegations were made against women Opposition MPs. They (the ruling side) plan to bar all 240 MPs of the Opposition. We have brought a no-confidence motion against this." As per the List of Business, Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed, Mallu Ravi and Kodikunnil Suresh are scheduled to bring in a resolution to move the No-Confidence Motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for discussion. 118 Opposition MPs have signed the motion, alleging "partisan" behaviour by the Speaker after the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, was allegedly not allowed to speak in the House. Shifting the discussion to the EAM Jaishankar's statement over the West Asia conflict, he demanded a parliamentary discussion. "Today, the govt has listed a statement by EAM on the West Asia situation. We want a discussion on this, not just a statement. We don't want Parliament to become just a notice board. There is a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders today to discuss the strategy for the House," he said. Congress MP Jairam Ramesh criticised the central government for bypassing a full parliamentary debate on the West Asia conflict in favor of a ministerial statement from EAM Jaishankar, drawing a comparison with the 2003 Iraq war debate in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Congress MP had said that the problems with Ministerial statements are that they convey the information which is already known, with MPs not allowed to seek clarifications or ask questions. EAM Jaishankar's statement came amid rising global concern over the escalating tensions in West Asia and their geopolitical implications. The conflict intensified after 86-year-old Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint military strikes carried out by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28. The strikes reportedly targeted key installations and also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic. (ANI)
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