Govt to face a no-trust vote on Manipur crisis

New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a notice for a no-confidence motion by Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogoi, setting the stage for a parliamentary battle between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the newly constituted Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The debate on the one-line motion — which says the House has lost its confidence in the Union council of ministers — is likely to start next week, two Lok Sabha officials said. The motion poses no threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, which commands a brute majority in the Lower House but the Opposition has signalled it wants to use the debate to try and corner the government on the continuing violence in Manipur.

“For over 84 days, the law-and-order system has broken down in Manipur, communities are divided, there is nothing in the name of the government there… all this compelled us to bring a no-confidence motion against the government,” senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said. At least 150 people have died in ethnic clashes in the northeastern state, and a 30-second video of a barbaric sexual assault of two women by a mob has sparked a nationwide outcry, and jammed Parliament.

The rulebook gives the Speaker a window of 10 days to start the debate. “The Speaker shall declare that leave is granted and that the motion will be taken up on such day, not being more than ten days from the date on which the leave is asked for,” says Rule 198 of the Lok Sabha. The monsoon session is scheduled to end on August 11.

This is the second no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government — the NDA defeated one in 2018 — and the 28th since 1952. This is also the seventh instance of the Lower House discussing a no-confidence motion within 12 months of national polls.

The BJP has 301 members in the Lok Sabha, and with its allies, the NDA has more than 330. The Opposition INDIA has 141 members. Others have 67 members.

Admitting the motion, Birla said that he will talk to leaders of different parties and announce a schedule for the debate later. Two Lok Sabha officials told HT that the debate might start next week.

The Congress said the Opposition grouping wanted the debate to start on Thursday and argued that the no-confidence motion should take priority over any other business in the Lok Sabha. “Keeping with the tradition, the Speaker should suspend all other business and allow discussion on the motion tomorrow itself,” Tiwari said, adding that once 100 or more members in Parliament rise in support of the motion, carrying out any other business is inappropriate.

Aam Aadmi Party also attacked the government. “Manipur is burning, and there are growing concerns that the instability could potentially spread to other states in the Northeast region. In response to the situation, INDIA is bringing a no-confidence motion,” said party MP Raghav Chadha.

Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi hit back at the Opposition. “People have confidence in PM Modi and the BJP. The Opposition had brought a similar no-confidence motion last term (in 2018) as well and the people taught them a lesson,” he said.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who last week accused the INDIA grouping of not being serious enough on Manipur, also lashed out. “The Opposition alliance has changed its name in an attempt to shed its checkered past. Renaming itself as INDIA won’t expunge their previous actions from the collective public consciousness. The citizens of our country have the wisdom to decipher this propaganda and they will resoundingly reject this refurbished entity.”

Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal challenged the Opposition and said the government was “ready”. “Let them file a no-confidence motion. The government is ready to deal with any situation.”

Later, Gogoi defended the move. “This is not just about the numb.