Birla asks LS secretariat to get 'faulty' notice to remove him 'rectified' to prevent its rejection
New Delhi (PTI): "Flaws" have been found in the notice submitted by opposition MPs to remove the Lok Sabha speaker from office, with Om Birla directing the secretariat to amend the "defective" notice to prevent it from being rejected, Lok Sabha sources said on Wednesday.
As many as 118 opposition MPs had signed the notice submitted to Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the day, the opposition withdrew the notice and replaced it with another one correcting the date.
Lok Sabha sources sad four instances of wrong date being mentioned were found, which could have led to the notice being dismissed under the rules.
However, Birla directed the Lok Sabha secretariat to get the defective notice amended and take action on it.
"Birla ordered prompt action as per the rules," a functionary said.
The notice will be listed after the start of the second phase of the Budget session from March 9.
Sources said upon receipt of the revised notice, a speedy review will be conducted as per the rules.
Opposition parties on Tuesday put in motion the process to oust Birla as Lok Sabha speaker, alleging that he had acted in a "blatantly partisan" manner in the House and prompting him to step aside from chairing the proceedings till the matter is settled.
Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, chief whip K Suresh and whip Mohamed Jawed submitted the notice under Article 94C of the Constitution to Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on behalf of several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK.
Lok Sabha secretariat officials said Birla, upholding the highest standards of morality, has decided not to sit in the Speaker's chair until the no-confidence motion moved against him is settled.
The officials said the no-confidence motion against the speaker was likely to be taken up on March 9, when the House reassembles after the recess to examine budgetary proposals.
Article 94C of the Constitution deals with provisions for the removal of the speaker or the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Article 96 of the Constitution gives the speaker an opportunity to defend himself or herself in the House.
The speaker can cast his vote when the motion for his removal is moved in the House. But he cannot cast his vote in case of a tie.
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BJP corporator Ritu Tawde elected Mumbai’s mayor; Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi becomes deputy mayor
Mumbai (PTI): BJP corporator Ritu Tawde was elected mayor of Mumbai on Wednesday, while Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Ghadi became the deputy mayor.
Both Tawde and Ghadi were elected unopposed in a special meeting of the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
After the election process was completed at the BMC headquarters, Tawde took charge as the 78th mayor of Mumbai amid sloganeering from both the ruling and opposition party corporators.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, were present during the ceremony. They congratulated the newly elected mayor and deputy mayor.
Tawade is a corporator from Ward 132, while Ghadi was elected from Ward 5 in the January 15 civic elections.
In the absence of an elected general body, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani had been overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the civic corporation since March 2022.
With Tawde’s elevation, the BJP has secured the mayor’s post in the country’s richest civic body after a gap of 44 years. She is the second mayor from the BJP in Mumbai.
Earlier, Gagrani conducted the election process in the BMC’s historic Committee Hall in his capacity as the state-appointed presiding officer.
Ahead of the proceedings, corporators of the BJP and Shiv Sena gathered at Hutatma Chowk to pay floral tributes before proceeding to the BMC headquarters.
In the polls to the 227-member BMC last month, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, while Shiv Sena won 29 seats. The ruling alliance, with a combined strength of 118 corporators, was past the halfway mark of 114 and was well placed to secure the mayor’s post.
The Shiv Sena (UBT), which ruled the civic body for 25 years since 1997, won 65 seats, while its allies, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), won six and one seat, respectively.
