Stage set for no-confidence motion, Lok Sabha Speaker admits notice against Modi govt

Stage is set for a no-confidence motion against Narendra Modi government with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitting a notice by Congress, a move by the Opposition I.N.D.I.A parties aimed at forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond on Manipur ethnic violence in Parliament.

Birla will soon set a date – within ten days as per rules – for the debate on the motion after consulting all floor leaders in Lok Sabha. Congress Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gourav Gogoi submitted the notice at 9:20 AM and he will be the opening speaker for the party and I.N.D.I.A parties.

As soon as the House re-convened at 12 noon after an adjournment, Birla informed the Lok Sabha that he had received a notice from Gogoi seeking to move a “motion expressing want of confidence in the Council of Ministers” under Rule 198. The resolution said, 'this House expresses want of confidence in the council of ministers.

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Birla then went ahead with a count of heads, as per rules, to see whether the notice had the support of 50 MPs. MPs belonging to the Opposition, including Congress Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and DMK's T R Baalu, stood up for the head count and the motion was admitted.

BRS MP floor leader Nama Nageswara Rao also submitted a notice to move a no-confidence motion against the Union Council of Ministers. However, it was not taken up. Sources said AIMIM also supported the notice of BRS, which is not part of the I.N.D.I.A coalition.

“What we demand is justice for Manipur. The government is trying to reduce it to a local issue. Why is Modi silent?” Gogoi told DH when asked about the motion he would be moving.

The numbers are stacked against the Opposition and the government got a boost with the non-aligned YSR Congress pledging support to the Modi government. it would be supporting the government. Its Rajya Sabha floor leader V Vijayasai Reddy said there was no point in the no-confidence motion.

With this the government is likely to get at least 357 votes, much above the half-way mark of 272, while I.N.D.I.A partners and other Opposition parties are likely to get 154 votes. BJD (12), BSP (9), Akali Dal (2) and JD-S (1) are yet to announce their stand.

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RSP’s NK Premachandran said it is not about numbers and the Opposition was “forced to move” a no-confidence motion as Modi is not willing to come to Parliament. “We did not have an option but to force him through this mode,” he said.

Incidentally, there were murmurs of differences among I.N.D.I.A parties, as the Congress “unilaterally” went ahead with the filing of the motion without consulting other parties. The parties had decided to go ahead with this move but the modalities were not finalised, sources said.

Several non-Congress parties expressed their unhappiness over not being part of the process at a meeting chaired by Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who “reprimanded” the Congress managers for rushing through the process and not taking others on board.

A senior Opposition leader said the optics would have been different if there was a bit more coordination and signatures of MPs from other parties in the notice seeking the moving of no-confidence motion. A senior Congress leader sought to downplay the issue saying there was a "communication gap", which "should not have happened.