Approach LS speaker before moving no-confidence against him: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee
New Delhi (PTI): Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said his party has "no problem" in signing a notice for a no-confidence motion against Om Birla, but stressed that the opposition should first approach the Lok Sabha speaker with their grievances, such as the suspension of eight MPs.
Interacting with reporters in the Parliament House complex on Tuesday, the MP from West Bengal's Diamond Harbour said Birla should be given a chance before the opposition moves a motion for his removal from the post.
Opposition parties submitted a notice on Tuesday for moving a resolution to remove Birla from the office of Lok Sabha speaker, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in conducting the business of the House and abused the constitutional office by making "blatantly false" allegations against Congress MPs.
Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the DMK.
The TMC MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not a party to it.
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 said.
"For instance, eight (opposition) 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," he added.
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.
Asked if there were any plans to bring an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, he said, "We did not plan to bring an impeachment motion against Gyanesh Kumar at the very beginning. We could have done so three months ago, as the INC had suggested at the time."
Banerjee added that his party has explored all avenues against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
"We explored all avenues. We held meetings, staged protests, the chief minister wrote six letters, and our delegation met the CEO and the CEC. Over the past three months, we have sent 100–150 letters, but received no response," he said.
"Impeachment is the last resort. Similarly, the speaker should be given a letter today and allowed three days to respond. If the speaker takes no action, then on Friday you [the INC] can move the no-confidence motion, and all AITC MPs will sign the resolution," 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.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
