Rahul Gandhi to speak tomorrow in no-confidence motion debate
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will speak on Tuesday during the debate on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur issue. Rahul, who returned to Parliament on Monday after four months, had visited violence-hit Manipur in June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will face his second no-confidence motion in Parliament on Tuesday, the first in his second term as the PM. People will also keep an eye on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is set to participate in the no-confidence motion debate tomorrow.
It will be interesting to see what Rahul Gandhi has to say in Parliament on the violence in Manipur, which the Congress leader visited in June.
The debate during the first no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in 2018 saw the much-talked-about 'hug-and-wink' from Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi made his comeback as an MP on Monday after four months of being disqualified from Parliament.
His disqualification from the Lok Sabha was revoked following the Supreme Court's relief to him in the criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remarks.
The no-confidence motion moved by Congress was admitted in the Lok Sabha on July 26 by Gaurav Gogoi, as the opposition wanted the Prime Minister to address the Manipur issue in Parliament.
The Lok Sabha business advisory committee has allocated three days for a discussion on the no-confidence motion. PM Modi will reply to the motion on Thursday (August 10).
WILL PM MODI DEFEAT NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION?
It was on July 20, 2018, when PM Modi faced his first no-confidence motion in Parliament after BJP's former ally, the Telugu Desam Party, submitted a notice over the alleged non-allocation of funds to Andhra Pradesh.
After a 12-hour debate, the Modi government defeated the motion by 199 votes. While the BJP-led NDA alliance got 325 votes, the opposition bloc secured only 126 votes in favour of the motion.
In 2023 as well, even as the Modi government is set to face its second no-trust motion, the numbers are heavily stacked in its favour.
The discussion on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha will start at 12 noon tomorrow, and go on till 7 pm. The schedule will remain the same for three days till August 10, and on the last day, PM Modi will respond to the no-confidence motion at 4 pm.
On August 9, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also intervene in the discussion, sources said.
In a House, where the halfway mark is 272, the BJP's strength alone is 301. With NDA allies, the ruling party is expected to sail through this test. The BJP has issued a three-line whip for its Lok Sabha MPs to be present in the House from August 7 to August 11.
But the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A. that supported this motion as the Congress moved it, claim the purpose of this exercise isn't in the numbers, but to compel PM Modi to speak on the Manipur issue in Parliament.
RAHUL'S RE-ENTRY TO PARLIAMENT
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will be participating in the highly anticipated no-confidence debate on Tuesday. He is expected to speak around 12 noon tomorrow.
The Congress leader visited violence-hit Manipur in June and shared glimpses from his two-day visit in July. He travelled from the state capital Imphal to Churachandpur district and met victims of the ethnic violence that broke out on May 3.
The highlight of the 2018 debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha was Rahul Gandhi's surprise hug for PM Modi as he walked over to the Treasury benches after his nearly hour-long speech on the motion.
The Prime Minister, in his reply later, drew everyone's attention to Rahul Gandhi's 'wink' that followed the hug, alleging theatrics on the part of the Congress leader.
With the return of the Wayanad MP to Parliament, it can't be said if the stage is set for another 'hug-and-wink' moment, but fireworks are expected during the debate on the no-confidence motion.
