Opposition plans no-confidence motion against Modi govt in LS tomorrow

New Delhi: INDIA, the alliance of 26 opposition parties, is likely to move a no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Sources said the draft of the notice has been prepared and is in the process of getting the necessary 50 signatures of MPs.

The Opposition expects the motion would force the Prime Minister to speak in Parliament on the Manipur violence.

The group has to submit the notice before 10 am for it to be read out by the speaker in the House on Wednesday.

The Congress has also issued a whip in Lok Sabha for its members to be present in its parliamentary office by 10.30 am "to discuss some important issues."

The Lok Sabha currently has a strength of 543 seats of which five are vacant. The BJP-led NDA has over 330 members, the opposition alliance INDIA has over 140 and over 60 members belong to parties not aligned with any of the two groups.

Decision at INDIA meet
The decision for the motion was taken in a meeting attended by INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) MPs in Parliament on Tuesday morning, the leaders said.

At the meeting of the opposition leaders, it was decided after weighing various options that this would be an effective way to compel the government to initiate a discussion on the issue, one of the alliance leaders said.

The opposition strategy to corner the government on Manipur will continue in the Rajya Sabha as well, the leader said.

"We discussed that if we move a notice of no-confidence motion with 50 MP signatures, the PM will have to speak. If he still doesn't speak, it will send a clear message that he is running away. It is a matter of perception. We are working on it now and we will make sure we submit it before 10 am tomorrow," said a senior leader of the alliance.

He also said that the two largest parties of the opposition alliance INDIA -- the Congress and the TMC-- have been in talks over using the no-confidence motion route to compel the Prime Minister to speak on Manipur in Parliament.

"The overall parliamentary strategy is in place for the INDIA parties. Tactics to execute that strategy evolve every day. Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha states the procedure of moving a no-confidence motion. 'Picture abhi baki hai' (the story is still unfolding)!" said Derek O'Brien, Trinamool's leader in Rajya Sabha.

Asked whether the opposition will move the motion against the government on the Manipur issue, Congress senior spokesperson Manish Tewari said in the parliamentary system and tradition, all options are open and the options in the rules are all available before the opposition.

"As we have pointed out in the last three or four days, the reasons why we are insistent that the Prime Minister must address both Houses of Parliament on the question of Manipur is because of the sensitivity and the depravity that Manipur has unfortunately witnessed in the past 78 to 80 days.

"Therefore under those circumstances, we are steadfast in our demand and as I pointed out that in a democracy all instrumentalities which are available under the Parliamentary rules always remain open," Tewari said.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the INDIA bloc's objective was to make the Prime Minister speak. "The Opposition has only one aim that PM Modi must speak in Parliament. Unfortunately, the PM is diverting the attention of the nation. First, he said 'look at Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, and West Bengal' and today he said 'look at East India Company and Indian Mujahideen'. Basically, after the INDIA alliance came together, the Prime Minister is having sleepless nights. Now, to hide his government's failures in Manipur he is desperately trying to divert attention," he said.

'Remember the 2018 failure'
Responding to a question about the opposition parties' decision, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters that the opposition should remember their failed attempt in 2018.

"I am not aware of their move but if they are doing so they should know that last time they brought a no-confidence motion, BJP came back to power with a stronger majority of over 300 seats and the same will happen again and we will get more than 350 seats," Joshi said.

The first no-confidence motion against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha was moved on July 20, 2018. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) scored a thumping win with 325 MPs voting against the motion and only 126 supporting it.
(With PTI inputs)