New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Leader of opposition launched sharp attack on Wednesday Rahul Gandhi During the discussion in the Lok Sabha on the opposition’s motion seeking removal of Speaker Om Birla, the Congress leader was accused of spreading misinformation about his low attendance and not being allowed to speak in the House.Amit Shah said Rahul Gandhi’s absence from parliamentary proceedings coincided with several foreign trips, claiming that the Congress leader was often abroad during key sessions such as the budget discussion.“Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is a senior Congress leader and is often active in public life. During the Lok Sabha session, there are major party events and elections, and senior leaders naturally interact with the public and express their views. This is normal and has happened with many leaders, not just Rahul ji. But the question is, if he was absent from the House, where was he? He will be visiting Germany, Vietnam, England, Singapore, Malaysia and other countries in the winter of 2025 for a total of 60 days. Were on foreign trips. It is a complete coincidence that these visits coincided with the budget session. Whenever the budget is discussed, he is seen abroad. Then he complains that he is not allowed to speak. How can he talk to another country? There is no video-conference facility; Otherwise, he could have participated from a distance…Should I even comment on the conduct of the opposition? For example, when the Prime Minister was sitting on the Treasury bench, some opposition members ran up and hugged him, which had never happened before. It never happened that members of opposition parties gave flying kisses or winked at members of the ruling party. To be honest, I hesitate to even speak about this.Amit Shah said data from previous Lok Sabhas showed that Rahul Gandhi’s attendance was consistently below the national average.Addressing the House, Amit Shah said, “In the 17th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 51%. The national average was 66%. In the 16th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 52%. The national average was 80%. In the 15th Lok Sabha, his attendance was 43%. The national average was 76%.”He also accused Rahul Gandhi of failing to participate in several major parliamentary discussions during the previous term.“…In the 16th Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi did not participate in the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in 2014, 2015, 2017 or 2018. He did not participate in any discussion on the Union Budget in the 16th Lok Sabha. In fact,…he did not participate in the discussion on any Government Bill. He did not participate in the discussion on the President’s address in the 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st sessions. In the 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd sessions, he did not participate in the discussion on the Union Budget and, except for one bill, he did not participate in any other legislative discussion. In the 18th Lok Sabha, he did not participate in the discussion on the Union Budget… After four decades, it is regrettable that his party has come up with a resolution that questions the integrity of the Speaker, who has always upheld the dignity of the House.The opposition’s motion demanding the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was later rejected by voice vote in the House, effectively defeating the no-confidence motion.Amit Shah described the move against the Speaker as unprecedented in recent decades and said such actions harm parliamentary traditions.“This is not normal. A no-confidence motion has been moved against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha after almost 4 decades.” This is unfortunate for parliamentary politics and this House,” Amit Shah said.Defending the role of the Speaker, the Home Minister said that raising questions on the office of the Speaker weakens the credibility of India’s democratic institutions.“I wish to inform the entire House that when the present Speaker was appointed, the leaders from both sides of the House together elevated him to the Speaker. This shows that both the ruling party and the opposition should provide a free and fair environment to the Speaker to perform his duties and support him in fulfilling those responsibilities. Today, while disagreement with the Speaker’s decisions can be expressed, the rules of the Lok Sabha consider the Speaker’s decision as final. However, contrary to this tradition, the opposition has raised questions about the integrity of the Speaker.Amit Shah also criticized Rahul Gandhi for demanding a debate on the basis of comments made in a press conference.“…He suddenly got an idea – debate his own press conference. This is not a market. This is the Lok Sabha…From your great grandfather to your grandmother and your father, there were tall leaders in India. There was no debate on anyone’s press conference in the Lok Sabha. If he expected his “great press conference”, which was based on lies, to be debated in the House, Om Birla did him a favor by not letting the standards of the House fall.“Responding to allegations that opposition leaders were not allowed to speak, Shah said the claims were misleading and pointed to the time allotted to Congress MPs to speak.“The LOP complains that they are not allowed to speak, that the voice of the LOP is suppressed. I want to ask him, who will decide who should speak? The Speaker? No, you have to decide that. But when there 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 not you Said? No one stopped you? Can do. “Misinformation is spread to defame the Lok Sabha.”The Home Minister said parliamentary rules empower the Speaker to maintain order in the House, including the power to remove unparliamentary language from official records.“The list of unparliamentary terms used in this House was not created during any one term. It has evolved over time, through the efforts of many eminent persons who have presided over this high office, since the beginning of the existence of the House. The rules of conduct of the House and the list of unparliamentary words are binding on all members. It cannot be said that these rules do not apply to us. The Constitution has given certain rights to the members, but has not given any special privileges to anyone. There is no emergency, and no one has extraordinary powers beyond those provided by the Constitution.”He said that the functioning of Parliament is governed by established rules and traditions developed over decades.Shah said, “The House is not a fair. Parliament runs according to the rules. Everyone speaks according to the rules. No one has the right to speak and disregard the rules of Parliament. Those who say that this is happening because of the BJP, let me tell them that these rules were not made in our time; they have been in place since Nehru ji’s time. I am ready to debate that Congress has broken the rules of Parliament many times.”Emphasizing the importance of trust between the ruling party and the opposition, Amit Shah said that the Speaker acts as the neutral guardian of the House.“I will speak later about the questions raised by the Opposition today, but first I would like to say that the spirit and long-standing tradition of this House is based on mutual trust. The House functions on the basis of trust between the ruling party and the opposition. For both parties, the Speaker of the House acts as the guardian of its functioning. However, there are established rules as to how the Lok Sabha is to be conducted, and these rules are made by the House itself. Under these rules, we can raise issues related to our rights and members of the opposition can also do the same.He also noted the procedural history of motions against the Speaker and said such measures were extremely rare.“Under Article 96, when the motion for removal of the Speaker is discussed, the presiding officer concerned shall not preside over the House. What had happened earlier? This has happened three times before, each time when the motion was brought the Congress party was in power. The tradition has been that when the no-confidence motion against the Speaker is discussed, the Speaker does not sit in the chair. In all three cases, the House was presided over by other officials for 14 days. Om Birla is the only president who has displayed moral courage…”Amit Shah also accused the opposition of trying to weaken parliamentary institutions and said the allegations against the Speaker harm India’s democratic image internationally.“…the world recognizes the strength and prestige of India’s democratic system. When allegations are made against the Head of this House, questions are raised on our democratic processes not only within the country but also globally. That is why, generally, a no-confidence motion is rarely brought against the Speaker. Members can go to the Speaker’s chamber and discuss their concerns. The Speaker listens to members from both sides. However, a very strange situation has arisen here, when the members go into the chamber, an atmosphere is created as if the speaker’s safety is in danger. Nothing could be more unfortunate than this. What kind of arrangement do they want? The post of Chairman is placed above party lines and is intended to act as a neutral arbiter. Yet, questions are now being raised about the person who has been entrusted with this intermediary role. I will explain later why such questions are being raised. For 75 years, both Houses of Parliament have deeply strengthened the foundations of our democracy. However, today the opposition has raised serious questions on this.He further alleged that the opposition’s motion itself contained procedural errors and had to be corrected before it could be accepted.“…The Speaker’s office gave him the opportunity to correct several mistakes in his presentation. When he realized he had to make improvements, the notice was accepted. This reflects both the high moral ground and seriousness in the House. The high moral ground is reflected in the fact that on two occasions, despite the no-confidence motion not being in accordance with the rules, Speaker Om Birla gave him a chance to submit the notice properly. The proposal was not fundamentally in accordance with the rules, yet the Chairman maintained impartiality. Some members have complained about microphone problems claiming that they are not being allowed to speak…Anyone who does not follow the rules or maintain discipline will have his microphone switched off, and that is the way it should be.’Amit Shah also criticized the opposition for alleged mistakes in the notice submitted for the proposal.“…Perhaps they presented the proposal half-heartedly. The entire country and the world knows that the year is 2026, yet they have mentioned 2025 on the notice. They might have thought that the Speaker might reject it. Appropriate proposal should be attached with the notice, but they did not do so. Once this was brought to their notice, they withdrew the notice, and another notice was submitted. In respect of the second notice, except for genuine Xerox. As per the rules, a member must submit a notice with genuine signature. Let us assume that there is an extraordinary circumstance and the opposition members want to move a no-confidence motion before the Speaker… The House will run as per the rules of the Lok Sabha, not as per the rules of any party.The Home Minister also rejected allegations that the government had suppressed opposition voices pointing towards the period of emergency.“We never suppressed the voice of opposition, the voice of opposition was suppressed during the Emergency when leaders were put in jail,” he said.
