Chirag Paswan slams Opposition's 'condemnable' no-confidence motion

LJP MP Chirag Paswan condemned the Opposition's no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, blaming 'Rahul Gandhi's petulance'. The motion follows a row over Gandhi not being allowed to speak on Gen Naravane's unpublished memoir.

Union Minister and LJP MP Chirag Paswan on Tuesday condemned the Opposition for bringing a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, calling their move "condemnable." Speaking to the reporters, Paswan said, "The Opposition has created a strange situation...Rahul Gandhi's petulance has washed out the Budget session. Due to this, he did not let the other Opposition MPs speak. You are bringing a no-confidence motion against a Speaker who always tried to give both the ruling and opposition sides a chance to speak. It is condemnable what the Opposition is doing."

Details of the No-Confidence Motion

According to the sources, the Congress submitted the notice to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today. The motion reportedly has the support of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has not yet declared its position. However, sources said today that Trinamool Congress (TMC) will not sign on to the no-confidence motion against Om Birla, initiated by Congress.

Backdrop of the Controversy

This comes in the backdrop of the Opposition alleging that the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to speak in the House during the discussion on the motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Gandhi cited General MM Naravane's unpublished memoir to discuss the 2020 standoff against China. The Speaker passed a ruling, asking Gandhi not cite unpublished literature.

Rahul Gandhi Counters Speaker's Ruling

On Tuesday, the LoP in the Lok Sabha alleged that the publisher was not giving out the truth by claiming that the book had not gone to print, as the same had been confirmed by the former Army Chief. "Here is a tweet from Mr Naravane which says -"Just follow the link to my book". The point I am making is - either Mr Naravane is lying or it is Penguin which is lying. I don't think the former Army chief will lie...Penguin says the book has not been published. But the book is available on Amazon. Gen. Naravane has tweeted, "Please buy my book in 2023." I believe Naravane ji over Penguin. Do you believe Penguin over Naravane ji? I believe Naravane ji has made certain statements in his book which are inconvenient for the Government of India and the Prime Minister of India. Obviously, you have to decide if Penguin or the former Army chief is telling the truth," Rahul Gandhi said.

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