On Tuesday night, LS Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced: “Opposition parties will lodge a motion of no confidence in Lok Sabha against the government on Wednesday.” More than 50 LS members from various opposition parties are likely to present their notice of “censorship” against the government on Wednesday morning, it is reported.
The sources said that the opposition parties will meet early on Wednesday morning to finalize the draft. Late Tuesday night, LS Congressional whip Manickam Tagore tweeted the procedure for filing a motion of no confidence, reinforcing the possibility. The party also issued a three-line whip. Sonia Gandhi will chair a meeting of congressional deputies on Wednesday. Since the notice of censorship must be filed before 10 am, the process may take until Thursday.
02:21
BJP wants to hide what is happening in Manipur, says AAP MP Raghav Chadha
The idea behind the opposition’s distrust movement is to force the prime minister to talk about Manipur
The Spokesperson, after a recount of deputies, must set a date within 10 days of the presentation of the notifications for the debate on article 198, where the government has to defend itself.
02:01
“Government is ready to discuss Manipur issue,” HM Amit Shah tells opposition in Lok Sabha
Since the notice of censorship must be filed before 10 am, the process may take until Thursday. If the opposition parties go ahead, it will be the first vote of no confidence against Modi’s government in his second term. He had filed one against the regime in his first term on July 20, 2018.
07:49
We Insist PM Modi Comes To Parliament And Speaks On Manipur Issue: Congress Speaker Mallikarjun Kharge
While opposition leaders are aware that the no-confidence motion will not be defeated in the Lok Sabha plenum, as the numbers are heavily in favor of the BJP-led ruling NDA, the idea behind pushing it is to have the debate so that the prime minister is forced to speak out on the issue.
03:46
Opposition voices are being suppressed, alleges TMC leader Shatrughan Sinha.
The no confidence motion option was discussed at an INDIA meeting on Tuesday morning. The sources said it was put on the table by Congress Speaker Mallikarjun Kharge. There was near unanimity that it was an effective way to force the government and prime minister to respond in Manipur, the sources said. In the discussion, Trinamool Congress sought 24 hours to give a final answer, although it agreed with the initiative.
It has also been decided that the opposition’s strategy of corralling the government in Manipur in the Rajya Sabha by pressing for a discussion under Rule 267, which entails adjournment of all other proceedings, will also continue, the sources said.
Opposition parties have refused to water down their demand for a debate on Manipur in both houses, which should start with a statement from the prime minister. An opposition leader said that “these two demands are not negotiable.”
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said: “I am not aware of their (opposition) move, but if they are doing so, they should know that the last time they tabled a no-confidence motion, the BJP came back to power with a stronger majority of more than 300 seats and the same will happen again.”
Lok Sabha currently has a strength of 543 seats, of which five are vacant. NDA has more than 330 members, INDIA group members have more than 140, while more than 60 members belong to parties not aligned with either bloc.