NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha announced that it will take up discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Narendra Modi government from August 8 to 10.
PM Modi’s much-awaited reply on Manipur, as part of the motion sponsored by the Opposition, is likely to be delivered on the last day, August 10.
The decision on the historic motion was taken at the Lok Sabha's business advisory committee meeting, which was not attended by the opposition alliance INDIA and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), as they stuck to the demand that the House should take up the motion immediately, even as they protested the government pushing through its agenda on legislation, which has been facing a logjam over the Manipur issue impasse.
In reply to this, the government was emphatic about the lack of rules or precedence on such a move, which dictate that it is mandatory for the House to take up the motion of no-confidence immediately.
The Congress and BRS had recently tabled a no-confidence motion against the government because of its reluctance to accede to the Opposition’s demand that Modi makes an address to Parliament on the continuing ethnic clashes in Manipur, which broke out on May3 between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority.
Since the trouble started, at least 130 people have been killed and tens of thousands others have been internally displaced in the violence that is still wracking the state.
It was on July 26 that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla decided to accept the no-confidence motion moved by Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi against the Modi government, with the head count of over 50 MPs recorded in favour of the motion, as is required under the rules.
MPs from the Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A., with Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, DMK's TR Baalu and NCP leader Supriya Sule, included in the headcount. Birla then went ahead to admit the motion of no-confidence.
Moreover, Opposition MPs from 13 parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), JD(U), and AAP also stood up for the headcount to be attained.
It is significant to note that this is the second instance of the Modi government being faced with a no-confidence motion since it came to power in 2014. Earlier, the first time a no-trust motion against the Modi government was moved in Lok Sabha was on July 20, 2018. At that time, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had scored a thumping victory, with 325 MPs voting against the motion, while only 126 supported it. This time too, the ruling NDA government has the requisite numbers.
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