41 notices for no-confidence not taken up during UPA regime: Ananth Kumar

As the Budget Session headed for a washout, the Modi government has justified not taking up the notices of no-confidence motion moved by six parties in the Lok Sabha by citing past precedents.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said there have been at least 41 instances when the notices for the motion of no-confidence was not taken up due to disruption in the House during the previous UPA government.

The notices for no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha were given by members of the TDP, YSRCP and the Congress against the present NDA government when the Parliament was seized of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill.

The YSRCP was the first to submit the notice for no-confidence motion on March 15, the TDP followed suit the next day. Both the notices could not be taken up on March 16.

With TDP and YSRCP getting prominence on the no-confidence motion, other opposition parties, including the Congress, also submitted identical notices on March 27.

Lok Sabha Speaker has been expressing inability to take up the notices for no-confidence motion citing repeated disruptions in the House, particularly by the AIADMK, an outfit perceived to be closer to the BJP.

However, Kumar chose to train his guns on the Congress BJP's main rival in Karnataka which goes to polls on May 12 holding it solely responsible for the disruptions in Parliament.

"The Congress members were in the Well raising slogans on March 5 on the PNB bank issue even after the government had agreed to its demand for discussion," Kumar said accusing the main Opposition party of setting the tone for disruptions.