Speaker to stay away from Lok Sabha proceedings till Opposition’s petition against him is disposed of

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will not preside over the business of the House until the Opposition’s notice for a motion seeking his removal is disposed of, sources said on Tuesday (February 10, 2026), citing “moral grounds” for the decision.

The Speaker has already directed the Lok Sabha Secretary General to examine and process the notice as per rules. Mr. Birla’s decision comes after Opposition parties, led by the Congress, submitted a notice seeking his removal, alleging that he was “blatantly partisan” in conducting the business of the House.

Countering the Congress claim that the Speaker’s charges against its women MPs were baseless, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju posted video footage from February 4 on X, showing women MPs of the principal Opposition party surrounding the Prime Minister’s front row seat in the Lok Sabha.

‘Most degrading behaviour’

If the ruling party had not restrained its members, Mr. Rijiju said, there would have been “very ugly scenes”. “Congress Party is proud of the most degrading behavior by their MPs !! If we had not stopped all the BJP MPs and allowed the Women MPs to confront Congress MPs, it would have led to a very ugly scene. We have very high consideration, to protect the dignity & sanctity of the Parliament,” he said in his post on X.

Later, speaking to reporters, he said the Congress MPs had even crossed the bench where the Prime Minister sits and went inside a few rows of the Treasury benches.

“The BJP women MPs were very agitated at this behaviour of the Congress MPs. We stopped our MPs from physical confrontation. After that, these Opposition MPs went to the Speaker’s chamber and threatened the Speaker. The BJP women MPs have submitted a petition. Let us see how the Speaker acts and what steps he takes,” he said.