Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 11 March launched a sharp attack on the Opposition in the Lok Sabha over the no-confidence motion moved against Speaker Om Birla. Shah accused the Opposition of undermining parliamentary traditions and casting unwarranted doubts on the neutrality of the Lok Sabha Chair.
Shah said the move was unprecedented in recent decades and reflected poorly on parliamentary politics and noted that when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was in the Opposition, it never attempted to bring a no-confidence motion against the Speaker and instead acted as a constructive Opposition.
“While being in Opposition, the BJP-NDA never brought a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker. We worked as a constructive Opposition and preserved the dignity of the Speaker’s post,” Shah said, replying to the two-day debate on the opposition resolution against Birla.
“This is not ordinary. After about four decades, a No-Confidence Motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker has been brought. It is unfortunate for Parliamentary politics and this House,” Amit Shah said.
“According to the established history of this House, its proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust. The Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the Opposition. Specific rules have been created by this very Lok Sabha to guide how the Speaker should conduct the sessions. This House is not a marketplace; members are expected to speak and participate according to its rules and procedures,” he added.
The Home Minister stressed that the Constitution envisages the Speaker as a neutral mediator between the ruling side and the Opposition. Casting suspicions on the Speaker, he said, amounts to questioning the very institution meant to ensure fairness in parliamentary proceedings.
“The Constitution has given the role of a mediator to the Speaker. When you cast suspicion on the mediator, it weakens the very foundation of parliamentary democracy,” Shah said.
Shah also emphasized that while members have the right to raise issues and voice their concerns, they must do so within the rules framed by the House itself.
Describing the Lok Sabha as the “greatest panchayat of India’s democracy”, Shah said the institution commands respect not just within the country but across the world. However, raising questions over the integrity of the Speaker, he cautioned, risks damaging the reputation of India’s democratic institutions.
Here are the top quotes from Amit Shah’s speech:
-While being in Opposition, the BJP-NDA had never brought a No-Confidence Motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker. We worked as a constructive opposition. We preserved the dignity of the post of Speaker.
-The Constitution has given the role of a mediator to the Speaker. You cast suspicions on the mediator. In 75 years, both the Houses have made the foundation of our democracy deeper than ‘paatal’. Opposition has questioned the reputation of that deep foundation.
-This is not ordinary. After about 4 decades, a No-Confidence Motion against Lok Sabha Speaker has been brought. It is unfortunate for Parliamentary politics and this House.
-I would like to say that the spirit and the long-standing tradition of this House are based on mutual trust. The House functions on the basis of trust between the ruling side and the Opposition.
-For both sides, the Speaker of the House acts as the custodian of its functioning. However, there are established rules governing the conduct of the Lok Sabha, which have been framed by the House itself. Within these rules, we can raise issues related to our rights, and members of the Opposition can do the same.
-This Lok Sabha is the greatest panchayat of India’s democracy, and not only in India but across the world, the reputation and dignity of our democracy have been established… and the entire world acknowledges this prestige of democracy. But when question marks are raised against the head of this panchayat, against his loyalty, it raises doubts not only in the country but across the entire world about our democratic process. Yet here, doubts have been raised against them.
-According to the established history of this House, its proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust. The Speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the Opposition.
-Specific rules have been created by this very Lok Sabha to guide how the Speaker should conduct the sessions. This House is not a marketplace; members are expected to speak and participate in accordance with its rules and procedures.
-We never suppressed the voice of opposition; the voice of opposition was suppressed during the Emergency when leaders were put in jail.
-False propaganda was being spread that opposition leaders were not being allowed to speak in the House.
-Even the Supreme Court cannot question the Speaker’s decisions.
-Leader of the Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) has grievances that he is not allowed to speak, that the voice of LoP is stifled. I would like to ask him who decides who will speak? Speaker? No, you have to decide this. But when it is a chance to speak, you are seen in Germany, in England. Then he complains…Congress MPs spoke for 157 hours and 55 minutes in the 18th Lok Sabha. How much did the LoP speak? Why did you not speak? Which Speaker stopped you? Nobody can. Misinformation is spread to defame the Lok Sabha.
