Lawmaker of India’s main opposition Congress Gaurav Gogoi today moved a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bid to mount pressure centring the Manipur ethnic strife issue.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance’s (INDIA’s) notice for the no-confidence motion and said he would discuss the issue with all parties, and according to the rules. “I will inform you about the schedule for the discussion.”
For all latest news, follow The My News’s Google News channel. Opposition lawmakers are demanding a statement from Modi on the ethnic violence that has rocked the state of Manipur for weeks since May 3, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
The Modi government enjoys the support of at least 332 MPs in the Lok Sabha and faces virtually no threat from the no-confidence motion.
This is the first no-trust motion against Modi in his second tenure as PM which began in May 2019. A similar motion was tabled during Modi’s first tenure in 2018, which was comprehensively defeated due to the overwhelming majority the BJP and its allies had in 2018.
The newly-formed opposition INDIA said yesterday that it would be bringing a no-confidence motion against the government in an attempt to make him respond to raging issues, including the Manipur situation.
The latest no-trust motion came after days of acrimony and disruption in parliament proceedings and the BJP’s refusal to accept the opposition’s demand that Modi speak on Manipur.
It also came at a time when fresh parliamentary elections in India are just months away and due early next year.
At the floor strategy meeting of the INDIA alliance, leaders of the member-parties discussed a proposal to move a no-confidence motion against the government in the Lok Sabha in a bid to force Modi to speak on Manipur.
The Lok Sabha today was adjourned till 12 noon amid sloganeering by opposition lawmakers demanding the prime minister speak in the House on the Manipur issue.
With the opposition bringing a fresh no-confidence motion against his government, Prime Minister Modi’s reply to such a motion in 2018 has gone viral wherein he mockingly tells the parties behind it that they should prepare to table a similar exercise in 2023 as well.
“I want to send you my good wishes that you prepare so much that you get a chance to bring a no-confidence again in 2023,” he had said while replying in Lok Sabha to the no-confidence motion in 2018. Official sources shared this part of Modi’s speech to highlight his “prediction”.