BJP issues whip, not taking chances
No-trust motion slated for Friday; who says we do not have the numbers to defeat the government, demands Sonia.
The Modi Government faces it’s first-ever no-confidence motion, jointly moved by the TDP, the Congress and the NCP, on Friday, with Speaker Sumitra Mahajan admitting it in the Lok Sabha.
It is a one-line motion which says that "this House expresses want of confidence in the Council of Ministers." However, the motion does not list any of the contentious issues.
The TDP is spearheading the motion as it had failed to secure a special category status for Andhra Pradesh, which led it to quit the NDA in March. It had fired the noconfidence motion for 13 days in a row in the last budget session.
The full-day discussion on the motion will take place in the post-lunch session.
The motion will not derail the government as the ruling BJP has 273 MPs, five more than the half way mark, besides the allies accounting for 40 others, including Shiv Sena's 18. Yet the BJP has issued a whip to party MPs, warning that anyone who skips voting will be "disqualified" from the House.
No wonder, immediately after the Speaker admitted the motion, on seeing more than the required 50 MPs rising in its support, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said: "Many opposition parties are behind the noconfidence motion and we are ready to face it as the whole nation has confidence in the leadership of Narendra Modi."
Though it is a symbolic move by the Opposition to whip up issues, the motion is a test of the opposition unity ahead of the general elections next year. Nonetheless, there is wishful thinking in some sections of the Congress that the BJP may be deserted by not only its key allies like the Shiv Sena but there may also be a revolt by party MPs unhappy with Modi's style of riding roughshod over others.
The Congress led by former party president Sonia Gandhi was seen pressing that the notice for
the motion of the TDP member be put to vote by the Speaker and asserted later: "Who says we do not have the numbers to defeat the government?"
Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said the debate on the matter, which will be held from 11 am on Friday, will be "more important than the voting". The TMC has issued a whip to its members and more parties are likely to follow suit.
The Congress and the TMC wanted the debate to be postponed to Monday. The Congress felt its attendance is thin on Fridays, since MPs go to their respective constituencies at weekend. The TMC pointed out that it is observing Martyr's Day in Kolkata on Saturday. But Dinesh Trivedi, a TMC leader, later said his party wasn't able to convince the Speaker and the government to change the date.
Reaching out to the Opposition minutes before the beginning of monsoon session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured if any party or any member wants to discuss an issue, "we are ready to do so".