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No-confidence motion in parliament: What is at stake in NDA's 331 vs Opposition's 144?

2023-07-28 00:00:00.0 铸币报-政治原网页

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday admitted a no-confidence motion moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi against the Narendra Modi government. Speaker Birla has said that he will inform the members about the date for a discussion on the matter as per rules after discussing the same with leaders of all parties.

The move comes amid an ongoing outcry about the violence in north eastern state of Manipur between Meitei and Kuki Zo community that broke out on 3 May this year. Recently videos went viral showing two Kuki Zo women being paraded naked by a mob of Meitei men.

The alliance of 26 opposition parties, INDIA, had decided to move the motion in order to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak in Parliament on the Manipur violence, senior leaders of the front had said.

However, contentions have arisen that the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A does not enjoy the Lok Sabha's majority to have tables the No Confidence motion. The delay in action and the mishandling of the crisis that has only tales of horror to narrate for Manipur caused continuous logjam in both houses of parliament since the monsoon session began on 20 July.

Opposition MP Gaurav Gogoi, who moved the No Confidence Motion against the PM Narendra Modi government said, “INDIA alliance is aware of its numbers in the Lok Sabha but this is not just about numbers. This is about Manipur's fight for justice. A message should go out to the brothers and sisters of Manipur that PM Modi might have forgotten Manipur but INDIA alliance stands with them".

BRS MP Nama Nageshwar Rao also submitted a notice to move a no-confidence motion against the Union Council of Ministers. The K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is not a part of the INDIA alliance.

With the aim to bring to bring the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)led -National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to talk about the Manipur issue in Parliament the Opposition alliance seem to have moved the No Confidence motion. The I.N.D.I.A bloc wishes to win the ‘battle of perception’ if not the no confidence motion.

Number game for both blocs in Lok Sabha

The numbers for BJP in parliament are far more than the Opposition bloc combined.

The Majority mark in Lok Sabha is 272. In that case, BJP alone holds 303 seats, and combined with NDA members that total strength is of 331 members.

Meanwhile, the opposition I.N.D.I.A has 144 seats in Lok Sabha, within which while parties like KCR's BRS, YS Jagan Reddy's YSRCP and Naveen Patnaik's BJD have combined strength of 70. The latter three are parties who have decided not to go for the I.N.D.I.A alliance for ‘Mission 2024’.

How does No Confidence motion work?

The No Confidence motion is used by Opposition in the Lower House of the Parliament in a democratic country against the ruling government. This tool bounds the ruling party to prove it still enjoys the majority in the Lok Sabha.

In a parliamentary democracy, a government can be in power only if it commands a majority in the directly elected House. Article 75(3) of our Constitution embodies this rule.

Any Lok Sabha MP, who can garner the support of 50 colleagues, can, at any point of time, introduce a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers.

Therefore if the BJP-led NDA alliance loses the majority vote induced by the No Confidence motion brought about in the Parliament during the monsoon session, the PM Narendra Modi government will fall immediately.

Despite the knowledge that the Opposition Alliance does not have the majority share, unless several BJP MPs also join join hands with them along with the entirety of NDA parties, the no confidence motion, as is empirically evident, been used to force a discussion on a particular topic- Manipur ethnic violence in this case. BRS MP Nama Nageshwar Rao also submitted a notice to move a no-confidence motion against the Union Council of Ministers. The K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is not a part of the INDIA alliance.