It is reportedly said that Opposition parties will meet early on Wednesday morning to finalise the draft. Late on Tuesday evening, Congress whip in LS, Manickam Tagore, tweeted the procedure for moving a no-confidence motion, reinforcing the possibility.
In a determined effort to compel Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the ongoing Manipur unrest, the opposition parties belonging to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc have devised a strategy to initiate a no-confidence motion against the BJP government, with a specific focus on the northeastern state.
Late on Tuesday night, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, made an announcement, stating, "Opposition parties will bring a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha against the government on Wednesday." According to several reports, more than 50 Lok Sabha members from various opposition parties are expected to submit their notice of "no-confidence" against the government on Wednesday morning. This move comes as the monsoon session of Parliament has been brought to a halt due to the demands for a discussion on the Manipur situation and a statement from the Prime Minister.
It is reportedly said that Opposition parties will meet early on Wednesday morning to finalise the draft. Late on Tuesday evening, Congress whip in LS, Manickam Tagore, tweeted the procedure for moving a no-confidence motion, reinforcing the possibility.
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Since the notice for no-confidence has to be submitted before 10 am, it is possible that the process may get spilled over to Thursday.
Following this, the Speaker of Lok Sabha will conduct a headcount of MPs and then decide on a date for the debate under Rule 198 within 10 days. Due to the time constraints, the process might extend into Thursday. If the opposition parties proceed with the motion, it will be the first no-confidence motion against the Modi government during its second term. The previous one was brought against the government in its first term on July 20, 2018.
Though the opposition leaders are aware that the no-confidence motion is unlikely to be successful on the floor of Lok Sabha, given the favorable numbers for the ruling BJP-led NDA, their main objective is to initiate the debate. The intention behind pushing for the motion is to force the Prime Minister to speak on the Manipur issue and address the ongoing concerns.
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Opposition parties have refused to dilute their demand for a debate on Manipur in both Houses, and that it should be initiated with a statement from the Prime Minister. An opposition leader said that "these two demands are non-negotiable".
Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi said, "I am not aware of their (opposition) move, but if they are doing it, they should know that the last time they brought a no-confidence motion, BJP came back to power with a stronger majority of over 300 seats and the same will happen again."
Currently, Lok Sabha has a strength of 543 seats, of which five are vacant. NDA has over 330 members, members of the INDIA group have over 140, while over 60 members belong to parties not aligned with any of the two blocs.
