Speaker serves as neutral custodian: Amit Shah

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The North News

New Delhi, March 11

Home Minister Amit Shah has defended Om Birla in the Lok Sabha, saying the Speaker acts as a neutral custodian of the House and represents both the ruling party and the opposition.

Speaking during a debate on an opposition resolution seeking Birla’s removal, the Union home minister said such a motion against the Speaker was rare and had not been seen for nearly four decades.

Shah criticised opposition parties for questioning the Speaker’s integrity, describing it as unfortunate for parliamentary politics.

“The Speaker does not belong to any party. The Speaker belongs to the House,” Shah said, adding that parliamentary proceedings must be governed by established rules rather than party interests.

He also noted that the Bharatiya Janata Party had spent many years in opposition but had never brought a no-confidence motion against a Speaker.

According to Shah, the functioning of Parliament depends on mutual trust between the ruling side and the opposition. He said disagreeing with the Speaker’s ruling was part of parliamentary practice but the authority of the office should not be doubted.

The home minister said that in India’s parliamentary history, a motion against a Lok Sabha Speaker had been introduced only three times and neither the BJP nor the National Democratic Alliance had initiated such a step.

Shah also said the Speaker has the authority to remove unparliamentary language from the official record and that members must follow the rules of the House while exercising their rights.

The debate follows an opposition move to bring a resolution against Birla, which Shah said risks undermining the dignity of democratic institutions.