No-trust motion against Speaker Om Birla rejected by voice vote in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday rejected no-trust resolution against Speaker Om Birla by a voice vote taken amidst loud protest by Opposition against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi at the end of the two day discussion on the motion.

Birla is set to address the House after the acrimonious beginning to the second leg of the Budget session.

During his reply to the motion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah mounted a sharp attack on the Opposition. After a spirited defense of the Speaker, Shah turned the attention to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s record of parliamentary engagement, citing data and terming it “poor”.

Protests broke out when Shah alleged that Gandhi is out of the country when serious matters are in discussion in Parliament, and that Gandhi did not respect the PM’s chair.

“He hugged the PM by coming over to the treasury benches, and even blew a kiss,” Shah said, leading to several Opposition members trooping to the Well of the House asking for Shah’s apology. Presiding chair Jagdambika Pal said that he will expunge any unparliamentary word in Shah’s speech.

Calling the motion “unfortunate”, Shah said that such a motion was being taken up for the first time after four decades. “Sadly, the LoP who initiated this motion did not speak during the motion,” Shah said.

“As per this House’s tradition, its proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust, and the Speaker is an objective custodian, representing both the ruling party and the Opposition. This is a regrettable event for both parliamentary politics and the House. Because the Speaker does not belong to any party, the Speaker belongs to the House. The House will be run by its rules, not by the rules of a party,” he said, adding that the rights of members cannot have precedence over the Speaker’s privilege.

Under Birla’s tenure, Shah said, the productivity increased to 91 per cent in the 17th Lok Sabha as well as this Lok Sabha till now.

“There were 361 sittings in the 16th Lok Sabha, 264 sittings in the 17th Lok Sabha and 104 in the 18th Lok Sabha till now. Under his tenure, zero hour has stretched till five hours, and 202 MPs were allowed to ask questions in the last Lok Sabha,” Shah said.

Proportionally, Shah said, the Congress has been given more time. “In the 17th Lok Sabha, Congress was granted 151 hours for its 52 MPs, while the BJP was allotted 349 hours for our 303 MPs. Congress got six times the time allotted proportionally,” he added.

Training his guns on Rahul, Shah said that Gandhi’s attendance in the 14th Lok Sabha has been 47 per cent, 52 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha, 66 per cent in the 16th Lok Sabha and 51 per cent in the 17th Lok Sabha.

“Barring one, he has not spoken on any legislation, he has rarely taken part in Budget discussions,” Shah alleged.

Responding to the Opposition’s charge that the NDA still does not have a Deputy Speaker, Shah said that in 1954 and 1966, the deputy speaker was a Congress MP even when the Congress was in power.

Shah also listed the number of times that Gandhi was out of the country when Parliament was in session.

“In the 2025 Winter Session he was in Germany; and during the Budget session the same year, he was in Vietnam. In the Budget Session of 2023 he was in England, and that of 2018 he was in Singapore and Malaysia. In 2020, during the Monsoon Session he was travelling abroad, as well as during the Budget Session of 2015,” Shah said.