New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah stood in strong defence of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Wednesday and lashed out at the Opposition for bringing notice to seek his ouster from the Chair.
The Home Minister, responding to the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker, said that the Speaker doesn’t belong to any party and he remains above partisan politics.
He said that the Lok Sabha Speaker serves the House, and he doesn’t belong to a party.
“The Speaker is the custodian of the entire House and accountable to all the members. Bringing a no-confidence motion against him is not an ordinary event. By doing so, the Opposition has chosen to attack the very fabric of the Constitution as well as the democratic principles,” he said.
He added that 10 hours were allocated for the debate, but more than 40 members participated in the debate, extending it to 13 hours.
“When the Speaker was elected, both treasury and opposition benches pledged their support and trust in him. The Speaker’s decision is open to criticism, but his decisions are considered supreme for every member. The motion against him points fingers at the very basic sanctity of the chair,” Amit Shah pointed out.
Drawing a contrast between the BJP and Congress’s track record in upholding democratic values, HM Shah said that till date, no-confidence motion has been brought three times in the past seven decades.
“In none of the motions, the BJP was involved because we believe in upholding the Parliamentary principles and maintaining the sanctity of the chair. Samajwadi Party and Communist Party were the ones who brought notice against the Chair during Congress-led governments. And, today, they are all sitting with the Congress,” he remarked.
He said that if the Speaker is put in the dock, this raises questions on India’s parliamentary system and sends a wrong message to global democracies.
–IANS
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