NEW DELHI, Aug 8 (PTI): Sparks flew on the first day of the debate on the no-trust motion moved by the Congress with the opposition on Tuesday asserting that it was forced to do so to break Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘maun vrat’ (vow of silence) on Manipur and the treasury benches hitting back saying it was a no-trust vote against a “poor person’s son” who has worked for the welfare of the people.
Several opposition leaders, including Congress MP Manish Tewari, on Tuesday targeted the government, alleging that it failed to contain violence in BJP-led states of Manipur and Haryana.
Participating in the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Tewari in Lok Sabha said it has “failed” on various fronts, including national security, economic growth, communal harmony and independence of institutions, in the last nine years. This is unfortunate, he said.
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Modi on Tuesday said that the opposition brought the no-confidence motion against his government to test the confidence of its own alliance members as the INDIA bloc is marked by distrust among its constituents.
Addressing MPs at a closed-door meeting of BJP’s parliamentary party, he described the opposition alliance as “ghamandia” (marked by arrogance) and congratulated the party’s Rajya Sabha members for the “semi-final” win in voting on the Delhi services bill.
Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal quoted Modi as saying that the opposition brought the no-confidence motion despite the fact that the government enjoyed a strong majority.
The opposition parties had formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to prevent the ruling BJP-led NDA from coming to power for a third term under Modi.
With the ruling party certain to defeat the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, where it enjoys a strong majority, Modi told party MPs to hit “sixers” on the last ball before the 2024 polls.
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day on Tuesday. Debate on no-confidence motion will continue on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, top ministers including Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia are likely to intervene in the debate, parliamentary sources said.
Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday opposed the no-confidence motion against the government on the Manipur violence, saying what happened in the state is due to “legacy issues” running back several decades.
Participating in the debate in Lok Sabha, BJD MP Pinaki Misra said it is out of the question for his party to support any motion brought by the Congress.
“They are very adept at cutting their nose to spite their face. It defies logic and political sense to bring a no-confidence motion that is bound to fail,” Misra said, targeting the Congress.
“Every time the prime minister gets up on the floor of the House, he pushes the Congress through the shredder,” he said.
“The conflagration in Manipur is the result of nearly 50-60 years of strife in; the fact of the matter is the entire issue boiled earlier in the 1980s too,” the MP said.
Misra said the home minister had called an all-party meeting on Manipur where he gave an exceptionally detailed analysis of the situation there.
“I believe the central government missed a trick there. The central government asking for the matter to be remanded back to the High Court was a huge error. The central government should have been happy to let the matter rest in the Supreme Court because the public has faith in its judgement,” he said.
Misra also urged all parties to each party to give constructive suggestions rather than blaming the central government on Manipur
