NEW DELHI: Two days before he faces the opposition’s resolution to remove him from office, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday received wholehearted endorsement from PM Modi, who mixed praise for his work with a swipe at BJP’s rivals by saying Birla handles even some “arrogant and unruly” members from big families well and “insults no one”.
“He endures bitter words of everyone and, you must have seen, always wears a smile,” Modi said in a virtual address at the stone-laying ceremony for the Kota Bundi airport in Birla’s constituency. Birla faces accusation from opposition MPs of being “blatantly partisan”.
Birla received praise from Modi for his impartiality. He is not member of any group and is above partisan politics, the PM said. Modi said Birla is as excellent an MP as he is an outstanding Speaker and is completely dedicated to the Constitution and parliamentary system.
He is like the head of family who works to take everyone along and respects MPs and their sentiments, Modi said. “Sometimes when arrogant and unruly students from big families come to Parliament who cannot help creating disturbance, he handles them like the head of the House,” he said, in a pointed swipe at key opposition functionaries such as Rahul Gandhi. Birla is adored by everyone, he said.
Birla’s ruling disallowing Rahul from quoting from the unpublished memoir of former Army chief M M Naravane during the first half of the budget session had triggered fiery protest from opposition members, causing days of chaos.
As one incident led to another, including Birla’s statement that he urged Modi to call off his scheduled speech in the House due to his apprehension that some women MPs of Congress, who had assembled around Modi’s allotted seat, could do something unwarranted, the opposition gave a notice signed by 118 MPs seeking his removal.
The House is scheduled to take up the opposition’s resolution when it meets on Monday. BJP-led NDA’s strong majority has made the defeat of the motion all but certain.
