No-Confidence Motion: No-Trust Vote Against Prime Minister Modi Defeated

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan calls for a voice vote regarding the no-confidence motion and determines that those against it have won the vote.

The Lok Sabha then conducts the vote electronically.
Ayes: 126
Noes: 325
Total: 451

The no-confidence motion stands defeated by more than twice the votes in its support.

Modi takes another jibe at the opposition parties who moved the no-confidence vote against him.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now speaking in the much-awaited defence of his regime. A volley of criticism has been mounted against his government, over a range of issues throughout the day, which was capped by a surprise-inducing hug from Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

Modi took a jibe at Congress saying that if they want to test the loyalty of their own allies then they shouldn’t mask it with a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said that he was hoping that Modi would use his mandate to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. “I had hoped this government’s mandate would allow Modi to achieve what Atal Bihari Vajpayee couldn’t.”

TMC's Dinesh Trivedi said that India's economic growth projections are rosy because the government changed its methodology. He said while the GDP forecast is over 7 percent, in reality it is under 5 percent.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

• Rupee is at record lows, it should be taken very seriously.
• Government isn't disclosing full details about the Ujjwala scheme.
• Government has no interest in economic policies; the post of chief statistician has been vacant for 6 months.
• Demographic dividend can turn into demographic disaster, as new jobs are not being created.

Raut said that the way Gandhi gave Modi a “jaddo ki jhappi”, it wasn’t a hug but a shock.

The government of France has said that under the 2008 security agreement, the Rafale deal is sensitive classified information, according to ANI.

However, Gandhi has said that he stands by his words.

Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said that the BJP has to appreciate the fact that Congress has tried to save democracy in the country.

He said that he was expecting the government to list out its achievements over the past four odd years. Instead, we ended up getting a history lesson from Rajnath Singh, Kharge said.

He added that the previous UPA government had promised central assistance and a special status to Andhra Pradesh. And that's the reason why Congress is standing with the TDP on the no-confidence motion. “It is for the people of Andhra Pradesh.”

Food minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the party that moved the no-confidence motion has done it only for the Andhra Pradesh matter. And that’s not new. Paswan said that the Congress has been in power for 55 years while the NDA government has only ruled for some 50 months. Hence the blame of Andhra Pradesh’s problems cannot be put on the current government.

He added that the Modi regime has seen a lot of beneficial pro-poor policies like affordable housing, building of toilets and improving sanitation. He also welcomed the no-confidence motion equating it with rains.

Tariq Anwar of the NCP said that the BJP's allies are deserting it because it failed to deliver on its campaign promise of 'sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas'. He noted that the Shiv Sena chose to not attend the debate because of this reason.

He also criticised the government on its stance in Kashmir, mob lynchings and rising inflation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the government will provide all the help that Andhra Pradesh needs even without a special category status, the reason why the no-confidence motion was moved. “Andhra Pradesh is part of this country. Central Government understands its responsibility. Whatever maximum assistance is needed, we will do it whole heartedly,” Singh said.

He said that the government has released Rs 15,900 crore for Andhra Pradesh between 2015 and 2018.

Watch Rajnath’s full speech here

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that what Rahul Gandhi did was not right and against the decorum of the house. “Rahul Gandhi has a lot to learn. Someone like (Mallikarjun) Kharge would not do something like this.”

The Speaker has adjourned the House again amid disruption by members. They will meet again at 4:30 PM.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that those who moved the no-confidence motion are unable to understand the fact that the Indian people have placed their faith in the government. “Those who have moved the no-confidence motion should understand that this is the first time that a non-Congress party has had absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.”

Singh defended the Modi government saying that under him the Indian economy has become a bright spot for global investors. “During Congress' regime, the inflation used to be higher than GDP growth rate. Now those indicators have turned around.”

He added that by 2030 he expects India to be in the top three economies of the world.

Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav said that there are doubters of the Modi-government within the BJP itself. He added that the government has failed to deliver on much of its promises including job creation and multiplying farm income.

BJP leader and union minister of parliamentary affairs has confirmed that the BJP will move a privilege motion against Gandhi. “He has grown old but it is unfortunate that he has not grown up. It is unfortunate that the president of Congress is so ill-informed and immature,” Kumar told reporters.

Kumar had also protested about Gandhi breaking the rules and procedures of the House during his speech.

All India Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign trips asking what the “globe-trotting” achieved. “Is the Prime Minister’s job to give speeches across the globe like a travelling salesman?”

And here’s a bonus

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a secrecy agreement was signed with France in 2008, when AK Antony was the defence minister, and the Rafale deal was also covered in the agreement.

Sitharaman was responding to Gandhi’s accusation that prices of aircraft under the Rafale deal were inflated unfairly and then not disclosed to the people.

Rahul Gandhi closed his fiery speech by hugging and congratulating Narendra Modi on the Lok Sabha floor after giving his war cry that he will unify everyone to defeat the incumbent power in 2019.

Gandhi said that anger is bubbling not just among the citizens but also among some members of the BJP itself.

Gandhi resumed his speech saying that the minimum support price hike that was announced by the Modi government was another jumla. “The Modi government has given a Rs 10,000 crore benefit to farmers. At the same time, just the state of Karnataka has given Rs 34,000 crore to its farmers.”

He also criticised Modi for remaining quiet on the assault on dalits, tribals, minorities and women.

Watch the second half of Gandhi’s speech here

The Speaker has requested members to maintain the decorum of the Parliament and to not cite facts and figures that are unverified on the floor.

Rahul Gandhi then continues with his speech.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had to adjourn the house till 1:45 PM after Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted by a huge uproar.

Rahul Gandhi’s vicious allegations about the Modi government favouring businessmen over the common people and of the Prime Minister “not being truthful” resulted in heated arguments across the members of BJP and the opposition parties.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that the Modi government has afflicted the country using the political weapon called jumla (empty promises) strikes.

Gandhi said that instead of creating jobs, that would’ve come from small businesses, the government chose to enforce demonetisation which hurt them. “Those who were making money through their small businesses and shops, you’ve snatched away their money from their pockets. This is an unrefutable truth.”

The Congress chief said that the government rejected to waive farm loans and yet chose to write-off corporate debt.

Gandhi also criticised the renegotiation of the Rafale deal with France and the rollout of the Goods and Services tax, which he said was something the Congress envisaged.

BJP’s Rakesh Singh is now responding to the TDP’s no-confidence motion. But that didn’t happen before an uproar in the Lok Sabha. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanded that an offensive word used by a TDP member be expunged from the records. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that if there was indeed an offensive word used, it will be removed retrospectively.

Singh said the opposition has no compelling reason to bring in a no-confidence motion. “Congress gave India a tainted government, while the BJP has given India a clean and transparent government.”

He added that the government’s work to develop India is not over yet.

TDP’s major concern is to get a special category status for Andhra Pradesh. Galla said that Modi had promised this during his campaigning in 2014. Now he wants the prime minister to deliver on his promise. “Mr Modi while campaigning in Andhra Pradesh had said 'Congress killed the mother and saved the child. Had I have been there, I would have saved the mother too'. People of AP have waited for four long years for him to save their mother.”

The Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul told ANI that the party will not attend the no-trust debate, in contrast to yesterday’s reports that it will support the BJP.

Meanwhile, PTI reported citing unnamed sources that the Maharashtra-based party will abstain from voting on the no-confidence motion.

TDP leader Jayadev Galla began the no-trust debate thanking the opposition parties including the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party and the others who extended their support to the motion.

“It’s not a war between TDS and BJP. It’s a war between majority and morality,” Galla said on the house of the Parliament. “It’s war between the authoritarian, Machiavellian attitude of the Modi regime and the rights of the state that make up the federal republic of India.”

The Biju Janata Dal has chosen to walk out of the no-confidence debate. Meanwhile, the opposition is demanding that no-time limit be put on the debate.

Hours before the Lok Sabha is to take up the no-trust vote against his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for disruption-free and constructive debate in the House.

As the main mover of the no-confidence motion against the government, the Telugu Desam Party will initiate the debate on it in the Lok Sabha and it has been allocated 13 minutes by the Speaker.

Congress, the main opposition party, has been allocated 38 minutes to present its views on the motion. Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the leader of the party in the House, Mallikarjun Kharge, are likely to speak.

Other opposition parties such as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Telangana Rashtra Samithi have been allocated 29 minutes, 27 minutes, 15 minutes and nine minutes respectively.

The ruling BJP, which enjoys a majority in the House, has been given 3 hours and 33 minutes in the debate, which is scheduled for seven hours.

(Source: PTI)

The Lok Sabha will, today, debate the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government. This is the first such vote in 15 years. Ironically, it was a National Democratic Alliance government, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that faced the no-trust vote the last time in 2003.

It was moved by N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party, which pulled out of the NDA government over the special status for Andhra Pradesh. The motion needed the support of 50 Members of Parliament. For TDP’s 16 MPs, that came from the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

The purpose of a trust vote is to challenge the government’s claim that it has the requisite majority in the Lok Sabha. In this case, the stability of the Modi government isn't in question as the BJP by itself has numbers beyond the half-way mark.

The key factor to watch is how the BJP’s allies vote. It has had a difficult relationship with its allies, with the TDP and the PDP breaking away. Several media reports claimed the BJP had managed to persuade the miffed Shiv Sena. But Arvind Sawant, a Shiv Sena MP, told BloombergQuint that it hasn’t been decided yet.