Both BJP and Congress have issued whips to their members to remain present in the House for the first few days. Congress along with its few allies had submitted a resolution for removal of the Speaker in the first part of the session that ended on February 13, alleging that he acted in a “blatantly partisan” manner in conducting the business of the House and “abused” the constitutional office he occupies.
The House is likely to witness a rare moment on Monday as Birla will not chair proceedings but will be seated among the members as the Lok Sabha will take up a notice seeking his removal from office. As per rules and procedure, Birla will get a right to defend himself when the resolution is discussed by the House. He will also have the right to vote against the resolution.
The Speaker can be removed if a resolution is passed by the House by a simple majority. Article 94C of the Constitution has provisions for such a move. Article 96 allows the Speaker to defend himself or herself in the House.
The proposed resolution is usually examined by the deputy speaker, but since the present Lok Sabha does not have a deputy speaker, it would be examined by the senior-most member of the panel of chairpersons, most likely Jagadambika Pal. The panel helps run the House in the Speaker’s absence.
Three Lok Sabha Speakers – GV Mavlankar (1954), Hukam Singh (1966) and Balram Jakhar (1987) – faced no-confidence motions in the past, which were all negatived.
