Congress to Submit No-Confidence Motion Against LS Speaker Birla

The Lower House reconvened on Tuesday but was adjourned till noon amid sloganeering by Opposition members. Congress MPs had signed the no-confidence motion on Monday.

The motion has the support of the Samajwadi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, while the Trinamool Congress has decided not to sign it, sources said. The Congress may proceed with the motion if Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is not allowed to speak in the House.

The dispute stems from Gandhi being prevented from speaking during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address after he cited former Army chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir about the 2020 India-China standoff. The Speaker had ruled that unpublished material should not be cited.

Gandhi later questioned claims that the book had not been published, saying the former Army chief himself had promoted it online and that the contents were inconvenient for the government.

The BJP responded sharply, with MP Nishikant Dubey accusing Congress of misleading Parliament and demanding strict action, citing the publisher’s statement that the book had not been released.

Although Congress lacks the numbers to pass a no-confidence motion, the issue is expected to disrupt parliamentary proceedings this week.