The Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) is witnessing a fierce debate on a no-confidence motion moved by the country’s opposition bloc against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led federal government.
The debate, which began on Tuesday (8 August), will continue until Thursday (10 August) and is likely to end with a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The opposition had moved the no-confidence motion to compel the prime minister to speak over the ongoing violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur.
Manipur Violence: What You Need to Know
India’s state of Manipur has been witnessing violence since 3 May after a tribal solidarity march led by the Kuki tribe was organised in 10 districts of the state against the Meitei tribe’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The Meiteis have been demanding ST status since 2012.
The Manipur High Court on 14 April this year ordered the state government to send a recommendation to the federal government regarding the same. However, the Supreme Court later criticised the decision.
The tribal solidarity march was organised as a protest against the order of the High Court. The protest march was countered by the members of Meitei tribe in the Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts, leading to clashes between the two tribes.
Amid the ethnic clashes, a video of two tribal women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted went viral on 19 July, triggering massive outrage across the country. As per media reports, the video is said to be of 4 May (a day after the violence broke out in the state).
So far, more than 150 people have been killed, while thousands have been injured and more than 60,000 have been displaced in the violence.
Ever since the video went viral, the country’s opposition parties have targeted the federal and state governments (both led by the BJP) over the violence.
What Does the Opposition Demand?
The Monsoon Session of parliament began on 20 July, a day after the video went viral, and ever since the start of the session, the opposition has been cornering the federal government over its perceived failure to control the situation in the violence-hit state.
The opposition has been demanding a detailed discussion and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
However, the government agreed to discuss the issue in the house, but made it clear that Modi would not make a statement on it.
The government’s argument was outright rejected by the opposition, and therefore Congress parliamentarian Gaurav Gogoi, with the support of at least 50 other members of newly-formed opposition bloc the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) presented a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha.
However, the BJP-led federal government will likely comfortably win the no-confidence motion, as it enjoys a clear majority in the Lok Sabha with additional support of the Andhra Pradesh-ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) and Odisha-ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Second No-Confidence Motion Against Modi Government
This is not the first time the Modi government is facing a no-confidence motion. However, it is the first no-confidence motion for the government in its second tenure.
The first no-confidence motion which the Modi government faced was in July 2018. Notably, the TDP moved the motion after splitting from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the demand for a special economic package for Andhra Pradesh.
It was the first no-confidence motion against any government in 15 years. The motion was supported by Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), the Left front, and others.
The government defeated the motion after 11 hours of debate, as it had the support of 330 parliamentarians.