Parliament Showdown over Manipur: Opposition INDIA says ‘No-Confidence’; BJP Ready to Counter

The debate over the 'No Confidence' motion moved by Opposition Bloc INDIA will be taken up by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The newly reinstated Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who returned to the Parliament after 4 months on Monday is likely to open the debate in the Lok Sabha today. While, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will respond to the motion only on August 10. 

This comes after the Opposition alliance INDIA had moved a no confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, over governmental apathy and the PM's silence on the carnage that has unfolded in Manipur for over 3 months, with no signs of it abating. The motion was tabled by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla late in July. 

The Lok Sabha session of Tuesday in all likelihood will last for 12 hours, with 6 hours 41 minutes allotted to the Bharatiya Janata Party and 1 hour 15 mins slated for the Congress. The debate is expected to span over two days, August 8 and 9, with the PM's reply on August 10. 

Ahead of the much anticipated no confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha, the BJP has reportedly called for a meeting of its parliamentary party members on Tuesday to discuss and strategise for the session. Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitaraman, Smriti Irani, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kiren Rijiju along with the 5 other BJP MPs will participate in the debate. 

The Monsoon Session of the Parliament that started on July 20, has witnessed continuing protests, staged by the Opposition to draw attention towards the Manipur issue. They have been demanding a discussion on Manipur, calling it 'the burning issue of the day', and trying to mount pressure on the Prime Minister, urging him to break his silence on the Manipur mayhem. 

"19 days PM Narendra Modi has been MISSING IN Parliament. It’s taken the rules of a No Confidence Motion to FINALLY DRAG PM to Lok Sabha. And in Rajya Sabha, what’s stopping this heartless government from starting the discussion on Manipur TODAY AUG 8 at 11 am. Let’s begin", said TMC MP Derek O'Brien, taking to X. The Opposition argues that the death, displacement and widespread violence that Manipur is grappling with, is a pressing issue that requires the Prime Minister's immediate attention. 

The Lok Sabha currently stands 570 members strong, the majority mark being 270. The NDA with the support of its allies is expected to take the government's numbers up to 366. The Opposition Alliance INDIA on the other hand, has only 142 members. Taking the numbers into account, there is no chance of the motion getting passed. However, as stated by the Opposition, it is a way of compelling the Prime Minister to speak on the ongoing violence in Manipur.