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Govt to face a no-trust vote on Manipur crisis
The debate on the one-line motion — which says the House has lost its confidence in the Union council of ministers — is likely to start next week.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a notice for a no-confidence motion by Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi, setting the stage for a parliamentary battle between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the newly constituted Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
The debate on the one-line motion — which says the House has lost its confidence in the Union council of ministers — is likely to start next week, two Lok Sabha officials said. The motion poses no threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration which commands a brute majority in the Lower House but the Opposition has signalled it wants to use the debate to try and corner the government on the continuing violence in Manipur.
“For the last over 84 days, the law-and-order system has broken down in Manipur, communities are divided, there is nothing in the name of the government there...all this compelled us to bring a no-confidence motion against the government,” senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said. At least 150 people have died in ethnic clashes in the northeastern state, and a 30-second video of a barbaric sexual assault of two women by a mob has sparked a nationwide outcry, and jammed Parliament.
The rulebook gives the Speaker a window of 10 days to start the debate. ”The Speaker shall declare that leave is granted and that the motion will be taken up on such day, not being more than ten days from the date on which the leave is asked for,” says Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha. The monsoon session is scheduled to end on August 11.
This is the second no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government — the NDA defeated one in 2018 — and the 28th since 1952. This is also the seventh instance of the Lower House discussing a no-confidence motion within 12 months of national polls.
The BJP has 301 members in the Lok Sabha, and with its allies, the NDA has more than 330. The Opposition INDIA has 141 members. Others have 67 members.
Admitting the motion, Birla said that he will talk to leaders of different parties and announce a schedule for the debate later. Two Lok Sabha officials told HT that the debate might start next week.
The Congress said the Opposition grouping wanted the debate to start on Thursday and argued that the no-confidence motion should take priority over any other business in the Lok Sabha. “Keeping with the tradition, the Speaker should suspend all other business and allow discussion on the motion tomorrow itself,” Tiwari said, adding that once 100 or more members in Parliament rise in support of the motion, carrying out any other business is inappropriate.
Aam Aadmi Party also attacked the government. “Manipur is burning, and there are growing concerns that the instability could potentially spread to other states in the Northeast region. In response to the situation, INDIA is bringing a no-confidence motion,” said party MP Raghav Chadha.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi hit back at the Opposition. “People have confidence in PM Modi and the BJP. The Opposition had brought a similar no-confidence motion last term (in 2018) as well and the people taught them a lesson,” he said.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who last week accused the INDIA grouping of not being serious enough on Manipur, also lashed out. “The Opposition alliance has changed its name in an attempt to shed its checkered past. Renaming itself as INDIA won’t expunge their previous actions from the collective public consciousness. The citizens of our country have the wisdom to decipher this propaganda and they will resoundingly reject this refurbished entity.”
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal challenged the Opposition and said the government was “ready”. “Let them file a no-confidence motion. The government is ready to deal with any situation.”
Later, Gogoi defended the move. “This is not just about the numbers (in the Lok Sabha). This is about Manipur’s fight for justice. A message should go out to the brothers and sisters of Manipur that PM Modi might have forgotten Manipur but INDIA alliance stands with them in this hour of grief and we are fighting for their rights inside the Parliament.”
Gogoi’s notice reached the Lok Sabha secretariat at 9.20am, said people aware of developments. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also gave notices for a no-confidence motion but they reached the secretariat at 9.50am and 10.10am, respectively, the people cited above added. According to the House rules, the notice received earliest was considered.
BRS leaders supported the no-confidence motion. “At the pre-session all-party meeting, we raised all raging issues such as Manipur, the border issue, unemployment, farmers’ problem. Every day, I gave adjournment motions. We wanted to raise issues related to Telangana but now national issues need to be prioritised,” said BRS floor leader Nama Nageshwar Rao.
Gogoi’s notice got support from all constituents of INDIA, but outfits such as the Bahujan Samaj Party, Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress Party remained silent. Gogoi — who is one of four Congress members from the North-East — is likely to initiate the debate.
The motion will come amid heightened acrimony between the Opposition, which formed INDIA on July 18 in Bengaluru, and the government, with less than a year left for the general elections. The Opposition had paralysed the parliamentary proceedings since the beginning of the monsoon session over their demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak on the Manipur issue. Top NDA functionaries — including home minister Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Pralhad Joshi — have said that the government wants a discussion on Manipur, but that the Union home minister will reply to the debate.
On July 20, 2018, the NDA government defeated a motion moved by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lawmaker Srinivas Kesineni, who was backed by many Opposition parties. One of the highlights of the debate was Congress leader Rahul Gandhi crossing to the treasury benches and hugging Modi.
