India, Feb. 24 -- Amid strained ties with the Opposition parties, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday constituted Parliamentary Friendship Groups with more than 60 countries, comprising various Opposition members, including those suspended from the Lower House recently for unruly behaviour.

The decision of the Lok Sabha speaker comes amid an Opposition plan to remove him from office, alleging partisan conduct in the House. Prominent Opposition leaders such as Shashi Tharoor, P Chidambaram, Gaurav Gogoi (Congress), K Kanimozhi (DMK), Derek O'Brien, Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamool Congress), Arvind Sawant (SS-UBT), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) will chair the parliamenta...