JOIN USThough the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was decisively defeated in the Lok Sabha on Friday, it also exposed the vulnerabilities of the government, the NDA and the BJP. There was no doubt about the outcome of the vote, and the government’s victory in terms of numbers had well been foretold. But a no-confidence motion is not always about numbers, it is also about positions and perceptions. The motion was introduced by the Telugu Desam Party, which was with the NDA till a few months ago. The BJP’s oldest ally in the NDA, the Shiv Sena, kept away from the debate, sending another unhappy signal to the government. It even praised the performance of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who led the opposition charge in the debate. This was a sign of the government’s political weakness and the vote could not completely hide it.
Besides the numbers, a no-confidence vote may be judged by the tenor of the debate and the words that make it. High standards of debate are a thing of the past, because the times have changed and the quality of the House has fallen. There was no great speech on Friday, but the one that stood out was Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the government. He was combative and polemical, and raised issues ranging from unkept promises and lack of jobs to corruption and violence against women, Dalits and minorities. It was more an attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi than an assertion of his party. In reply, Modi was, for once, more prime ministerial than his usual aggressive self, although he stuck to his sarcastic form. Yet, neither the prime minister nor others from the government and the party could answer all the questions posed to them, about the Rafale deal, jobs, lynchings, and the message of hatred emanating from the BJP. The BJP ministers and members had more time than any others in the debate, the prime minister spoke far longer than Rahul Gandhi and others, yet they did not get the better of the Opposition.
If the numbers were predictable and one may dispute who won the debate, there is no doubt about who stole the show. The abiding image of the no-trust contest was Rahul Gandhi hugging a confused prime minister in his seat, after a fiery speech accusing the government and the prime minister of promoting conflict and confrontation. The act was unconventional and had an appeal that went beyond politics and parliamentary conduct. The assertion of the value of love in the time of an epidemic of hatred will not be lost, but all said and seen, politics and leadership are about other more substantial things, too.