Modi faces 1st no-trust vote tomorrow
Strap: LS Speaker admits TDP notice; Cong, TMC, SP, Left in support
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 18
The four-year-old NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face its first motion of no confidence this Friday after Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday admitted a relevant notice moved by the Telugu Desam Party.
Eight notices of no confidence in the Council of Ministers were received as the monsoon session of Parliament commenced. Three notices came from the TDP; two from the Congress, one each from the NCP, CPM, and RSP.
The Speaker allowed TDP MP Kesineni Srinivas’ notice given to protest denial of special package for Andhra Pradesh. She said Srinivas’ notice was the “first in point of time”.
The notice was admitted moments after PM Modi appealed to the Opposition for smooth functioning of the session and later went around greeting all leaders in Lok Sabha.
The PM attended most part of the question hour, which was disrupted by TDP and SP members. The SP demanded restoration of quotas in higher educational institutions, while the TDP wanted its no-confidence notice admitted urgently. Congress MPs led by Jyotiraditya Scindia opposed Speaker’s decision to allow the question hour while no-confidence notices were pending.
After the Speaker in zero hour satisfied herself of the requirement to admit the no-confidence notice under rules (at least 50 MPs must rise in support) and accepted it, a confident government said it was prepared for the vote.
“Many Opposition parties have moved no-confidence notices. Please accept these. We are ready. Let there be clarity on everything. ‘Doodh kaa doodh, paani kaa paani ho jaane dijiye’. Prime Minister has the love of the people outside. Inside the House, we have the majority,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said as Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, SP veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav and JDS chief HD Deve Gowda watched.
The Modi government’s confidence stems from party position in the Lok Sabha. The 13-party NDA has 315 MPs in the House where the current effective strength is 536, instead of 545, there being nine vacancies. The government needs 269 votes to defeat the no-confidence motion.
The BJP has 274, including rebel MPs Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad who stand to lose their membership if they defy the party whip to vote against the motion.
The UPA comprising the Congress, NCP, RJD, IUML, JMM and Kerala Congress Mani has 64 MPs. The Congress has 48. Other parties, including Independents, have 157 MPs.
The numbers explain the quickness with which the Speaker returned after lunch break to list discussions on the no-confidence motion July 20. She said entire business of the House, question hour, zero hour and private members’ Bills, will be suspended that day to take up the notice.
Earlier, the Congress, TMC, SP and Left rose in support of TDP’s motion enabling its admission. The AIADMK and BJD didn’t rise. BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab said: “Let us hear what the TPD has to say. They were part of the government for three-and-a-half years. We will decide our stand on the floor of the House on Friday.”
While the government claimed comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi also exuded confidence. When asked about the motion, she said: “Who told you the Opposition does not have the numbers?”
The Congress-led Opposition hopes to expose the government during discussions on the motion with Mallikarjun Kharge maintaining: “All these years the government never allowed discussions on matters of people’s concern. We will hold it accountable for corruption, lack of governance, farm distress, unemployment, abysmal state of women’s security, misrule in Jammu and Kashmir, mob lynching, dilution of reservations in higher educational institutions and misuse of EVMs.”
Quotes
‘Who said we don’t have the numbers?’
Sonia Gandhi, upa chairperson
‘We are ready for the vote. We are hopeful of support from parties outside of the NDA as well’
Ananth Kumar, parliamentary affairs minister
