New Delhi, March 12 -- Speaking for the first time since the vote on Speaker's removal failed, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday categorically rejected the assertion that the Speaker has switched of any MP's microphone during their speech, rubbishing the claim that certain members, particularly of the Opposition's side, were not allowed speak during discussions.

"Some members also raised the issue that the microphones of Opposition MPs were switched off. I have said it before, too. The chair does not have a button to switch the mic on or off. Even Opposition MPs know this when they do the work sitting in this chair. Whoever is given permission to speak at that time, their mic is switched on," Birla said during his statement in Lok S...