Birla: Deja vu moment for Lok Sabha as speaker Om Birla skips House, Adhir Chowdhury mollifies him | India News

NEW DELHI: Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday sang paeans to speaker Om Birla who did not preside over the proceedings of the House for the second consecutive day of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament to express his “displeasure” over the constant disruptions by both the opposition as well as the treasury benches. This is at least the second time in the last three-and-a-half years when the speaker is learnt to have expressed his anguish over the disruptions by keeping away from the proceedings of the House and Chowdhury seeking to mollify him.

Speaker Birla did not preside over the proceedings of the Lok Sabha throughout the day on August 2 despite remaining present in his chamber. He invariably presides over the question hour which starts at 11 am when the House meets for the day.
However, in an unusual development on Wednesday, Birla did not come to chair the proceedings during the question hour. Birla is learnt to be displeased with the constant unruly behaviour of the members.

YSRCP MP Midhun Reddy presided over the question hour. Barely had the question hour started that the opposition MPs started shouting slogans and creating ruckus over the Manipur violence forcing Reddy to adjourn the House till 2 pm.
When the House reassembled at 2 pm, BJP’s Rajendra Agrawal was in the chair. The opposition MPs continued creating pandemonium. Agrawal adjourned the House for the day. The Lok Sabha could not take up several matters including the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for discussion and passage despite being listed for the day’s legislative business.
Speaker Birla did not chair the proceedings throughout the day. Even on Thursday, when the House met during question hour, Agrawal, instead of Birla, was on the chair.
This prompted Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to praise Birla. Even before the question hour started, Chowdhury said the opposition wanted Birla to come to the House. He said Birla is their custodian and he protects their rights.
Agrawal replied that he will convey his message to the speaker and allowed the question hour to start. However, the very next moment the opposition MPs started creating ruckus forcing Agrawal to adjourn the House till 2 pm.

In the meantime, leaders of several opposition parties, including Chowdhury, are learnt to have met Birla in his chamber and requested him to preside over the House’s proceedings.
Paying heed to the opposition MPs, Birla finally came when the House reconvened at 2 pm to discuss and pass the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, popularly known as the Delhi Services Bill.
Chowdhury expressed happiness over the speaker’s presence and said how the opposition MPs met him and urged him to chair the proceedings.
When Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had likened speaker to ‘Pope of Vatican’
This is at least the second time that Birla is reported to be unhappy with the ruckus in the House and has stayed away from chairing the proceedings as a mark of displeasure.
A “deeply hurt” Birla was “anguished” at the MPs for not following decorum. BJD MP B Mahtab, who was presiding over the House, said the speaker was “saddened”. The speaker has every right to express his pain, he added.
This is also the second time when Chowdhury has sought to mollify the speaker. On the earlier occasion, Birla had suspended seven Congress MPs for unruly behaviour over Covid on March 6, 2020.
The Congress MPs were suspended after they were disrupting the House despite repeated warnings by Birla. They were seen snatching papers and throwing them near the speaker’s chair.
Birla is learnt to have not chaired the proceedings for two days to express his displeasure.
Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi moved a resolution for the suspension of the seven MPs – Gaurav Gogoi, T N Prathapan, Dean Kuriakose, Manicka Tagore, Rajmohan Unnithan, Benny Behanan and Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Meenakashi Lekhi of the BJP, who was on the chair, named the seven COngress MPs who were suspended for the rest of the sessions for their unruly behaviour.
When the House met on March 7, 2020, Chowdhury sought to please Birla by saying that the Congress members always regarded the chair in Lok Sabha as “Pope of Vatican”.
He also said a pickpocket cannot be sent to the gallows for the crime of theft.
It seems to be a deja vu moment for the Lok Sabha with Birla staying away from the House proceedings for two consecutive days for the second time and Chowdhury seeking to mollify him for the same number of times.