A no-confidence motion is rarely brought against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. In fact, it has happened only thrice — in 1954, 1966 and 1987 — and all these times the motion was defeated. This time was no different. The no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, was defeated by a voice vote.

No one had an iota of doubt that it would be defeated. The Opposition simply did not have the numbers, as their strength adds up to only 238, falling short of the NDA’s 293 in the Lower House. Perhaps removing Om Birla from the Chair was not the intention of the Opposition. All they wanted was to have a debate on the issue to castigate his tenure as Speaker. In this goal, they were pretty successful. Not only did they register a protest against his conduct in the House, but they........

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