Govt plans to isolate Congress over no-confidence notice against Om Birla, courts smaller parties ahead of March 9

On February 10, the Opposition submitted a notice signed by 118 MPs seeking a no-confidence motion Om Birla.

• Centre aims to divide Opposition over Speaker no-confidence motion
• Debate on motion against Om Birla set for March 9 in Lok Sabha
• Some Opposition parties hesitant, calling it a Congress-led move

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The Centre is looking to politically corner the Congress over the proposed no-confidence resolution against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla by attempting to draw smaller Opposition parties away from their position, according to Indian Express.

The debate and voting on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against Birla will be taken up on March 9.

Opinion within the Opposition is already split as some leaders have reportedly advocated a less confrontational line than the one being pressed by the Congress. Notably, the Trinamool Congress did not sign the notice.

According to the IE report, a section of Opposition leaders said their point has already been made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend the House for his reply to the Motion of Thanks debate. This was seen as political payback for the occasions when Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was unable to speak due to disruptions or had portions of his speeches expunged.

This group also believed there is little strategic value in antagonising Birla when the no-confidence motion is unlikely to succeed and he is expected to preside over the House for the next three years.

However, some leaders believe that only a debate on the no-confidence motion against Birla would clearly establish “the partisan functioning of the House” under him as Speaker.

A senior Congress leader told IW they would not shy away from any tool in parliamentary democracy. “Moving a no-confidence motion against the Speaker is an unusual and rare step. However, only a proper discussion, without the Speaker in the Chair, will bring out what we have been complaining about,” the Congress leader said.

An Opposition leader emphasised that any further course of action would be taken collectively.

“The decision to move a no-confidence resolution against Speaker Om Birla was taken at a meeting of all 26 Opposition parties. We deliberated on it for two days. The Congress could have submitted a notice with just the minimum required signatures — you need only two in the Speaker’s case — but the party gathered 118 signatures,” the leader said.

The Treasury Benches, meanwhile, see an opportunity to deepen divisions within the Opposition. A BJP source confirmed that the party has been reaching out to smaller parties and individual MPs within the INDIA bloc, saying a “showdown” in the House would suit the government. “It will be an opportunity to single out the Congress,” a source said.

Sources also told IE that the government has been telling smaller parties that the no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla is “entirely a Congress agenda”. They added that several Opposition MPs have informally indicated they are not enthusiastic about pushing the move further.

On February 10, the Opposition submitted a notice signed by 118 MPs seeking a no-confidence motion Birla.

The move followed his refusal to allow Gandhi to quote from or refer to the unpublished memoir of former Army Chief M M Naravane. Birla had also stated that he advised PM Modi not to attend the House, suggesting he could face attacks there. Amid the ensuing disruptions, eight Opposition MPs were suspended.

After the Lok Sabha Secretariat admitted the notice during the first half of the Budget Session, Birla refrained from presiding over proceedings.

If the motion is taken up, it will be debated in the House. However, the Opposition retains the option of withdrawing the notice when it comes up for consideration on March 9.