Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Refuses to Attend Parliament Amid No-Confidence Motion

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has decided not to attend the Parliament till there is an outcome of the no-confidence motion moved against him by 118 MPs. This comes hours after Congress submitted the no-confidence motion against Birla on behalf of the Opposition. The motion was submitted by Congress MPs Gaurav Gogoi, Mohammad Javed and K Suresh at 1.14 pm on Tuesday to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh under Rule 94C of the Rules and Procedures of the House. The notice, signed by 118 MPs, accused Birla of conducting the business of the Lok Sabha in a “blatantly partisan manner”. It claimed that on several occasions, leaders of Opposition parties have been denied of their “basic democratic right” by not being allowed to speak in the Parliament. The notice highlighted three recent instances: