Opposition INDIA to move no-confidence motion against government in Lok Sabha

According to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping has resolved to submit a no-confidence resolution against the government in Lok Sabha.

The accusation was made after the first three days of Parliament’s ongoing monsoon session were washed out as INDIA grouping parliamentarians remained firm in their demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on the ethnic violence in Manipur.

Telugu Desam Party was one of the parties that filed a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in 2018. The administration prevailed by a vote of 325 to 126.

In 2003, the Congress-led Opposition introduced a no-confidence resolution against the administration of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The motion was debated and voted on, but Vajpayee was not defeated. Only in the Lok Sabha can a no-confidence motion be introduced against the government. If a government is defeated in the vote required to decide the motion, the Prime Minister must resign.

To be clear, any such move poses no threat to the Narendra Modi government, which enjoys a solid majority in the Lower House of Parliament. Opposition leaders argued that the purpose of the motion was to force the Prime Minister to address the Manipur issue in the House.

“India decided this to have PM [Prime Minister] speak in Lok Sabha on Manipur,” a Congress leader said following a meeting of INDIA allies on Tuesday morning at the office of party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

The opposition will need the support of at least 50 Lower House legislators to issue a vote of no confidence in the Speaker. Otherwise, the notification will be dismissed in accordance with Lok Sabha rules.

There is no certainty that the Prime Minister will talk on a specific issue when responding to a no-confidence vote.

A second Congress leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the suggestion to bring a no-confidence resolution against the government was discussed as the “last weapon” to force the PM to appear at the INDIA grouping meeting on Tuesday.