Indian parliament to discuss no-confidence motion against govt Aug 8-10

The no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government will be debated in the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Indian parliament, from August 8 to 10.

Modi is likely to reply to the debate on the opposition-sponsored motion on August 10.

The dates were finalised at a meeting of the Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee amid a walkout by the opposition alliance which demanded the no-trust motion be taken up immediately, and protested the government's decision to push through parliament's legislative agenda.

Manickam Tagore, Congress' whip in the Lok Sabha, said the House was adjourned after the parties of the opposition INDIA alliance demanded the presence of Modi and that he make a statement on the Manipur issue.

"In the Business Advisory Committee meeting as well, INDIA alliance parties demanded that the no-confidence motion be brought up earlier. We wanted that the motion be taken up tomorrow [Wednesday] itself," he said.

In the last Lok Sabha, Tagore said, when the Telugu Desam Party had moved a no confidence motion, it was listed the following day. "Therefore, the delay is not proper. In protest, INDIA alliance partners walked out of the Speaker's Business Advisory Committee meeting," the Congress leader added.

The opposition leaders have been citing Lok Sabha precedence and rules that a no-confidence motion be taken up first setting aside all other government business.

On the other hand, the government contends that there are no rules or precedence which make it mandatory for the Lok Sabha to take up the no-confidence motion immediately.

Congress last week had tabled the no-confidence motion demanding that Modi make a statement in parliament on ethnic clashes in Manipur which broke out in May between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority.

At least 160 people have been killed and 50,000 displaced in the violence which began on May 3.

On July 26, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted the no-confidence motion moved by Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi after a head count of over 50 MPs was done, as required under the rules.

MPs belonging to the opposition bloc, including Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, DMK's TR Baalu and NCP leader Supriya Sule, stood up for the motion.

This is the second time the Modi government would be facing a no-confidence motion since it came to power in May, 2014. The first no-trust motion against the Modi government was moved on July 20, 2018 when BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won it hands down with 325 MPs voting against the motion and only 126 supporting it.

This time too, there appears little threat to the Modi dispensation as BJP has more than 300 lawmakers in the 543-member Lok Sabha with the opposition having 141.