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 the Lok Sabha speaker, but stressed that the opposition should first approach Om Birla 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 Congress, Samajwadi Party and the DMK.

The TMC MPs, however, did not sign the notice and were not a party to it.

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 said.

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.