TMC stays off Speaker ouster move, Abhishek says opposition must first take concerns to Om Birla
Telegraph | 10 February 2026
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday sought to explain why his party stayed away from an opposition notice seeking the removal of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying the INDIA bloc should first place its grievances before the Speaker instead of rushing into a no-confidence motion.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex, the Diamond Harbour MP said the Trinamool Congress had “no problem” signing a no-confidence notice but believed Birla should be given an opportunity to respond to concerns, including the suspension of eight MPs.
Opposition parties earlier in the day submitted a notice to move a resolution to remove Birla, accusing him of acting in a “blatantly partisan” manner while conducting House proceedings and abusing a constitutional office by making “blatantly false” allegations against Congress MPs.
The notice was submitted to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh by Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK.
Trinamool Congress MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not part of the move.
Addressing questions on the party’s absence, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “The All India Trinamool Congress has no problem signing the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. All 28 MPs will sign it.”
“However, before moving the no-confidence motion, we want all the INDIA bloc partners to sign a letter addressed to the Speaker, highlighting the four points on which the argument is based,” he added.
Banerjee said, "For instance, eight INC MPs have been suspended. An appeal can be made to reconsider or revoke the suspension. The speaker can be given two to three days' time to respond." If the Speaker does not act or fails to provide satisfactory responses to the four issues, a no-confidence motion can be introduced after three days, he said.
The TMC leader said his party wants the Lok Sabha to function. "We want the House to function properly, but it appears the Union government does not. The House has been adjourned twice, and the Speaker has not come to the House," he said.
"From 2 pm yesterday until 11 am today, the House remained adjourned. If you [the Speaker] truly intend to ensure the House functions properly, why would you adjourn it for such a long period? You share the responsibility, along with the Union government, to ensure the smooth functioning of the House," he added.
About 120 MPs of parties such as the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) had already signed a notice for moving the resolution against Birla, sources said.
While there have been attempts in the past to remove the Speaker, none have been successful.