New Delhi: Lok Sabha will debate the no-confidence motion from August 8 to 10 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply to the opposition-sponsored move on the last day with the numbers clearly in favour of the ruling NDA.
The decision on the debate was taken at the Lok Sabha's business advisory committee meeting convened by Speaker Om Birla, as constituents of the INDIA alliance walked out in protest against it not being taken up on priority.
"The debate on the no-confidence motion will begin on August 8 and continue till August 10 when the prime minister will reply to the debate," a senior leader said.
Meanwhile, at a function in Pune where he was conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "trust surplus" is seen today both in policies and hard work of the people in the country.
Development is impossible if there is an atmosphere of mistrust, Modi said in his acceptance speech at the event, where he shared stage with NCP leader Sharad Pawar.
The opposition bloc INDIA with the Congress, DMK, Left parties and the TMC, as well as the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, demanded that the House take up the motion immediately and protested the government pushing through its legislative agenda this week.
The fate of the no-confidence motion moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on behalf of the united opposition, is clear as the NDA has the support of a majority members in Lok Sabha. With 301 MP of its own, the NDA has a total of 325 MPs in Lok Sabha.
Besides, the BJD with 12 MPs has also announced that it will oppose the no- confidence motion. The BJD has issued a three-line whip to its MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The opposition alliance, on the other hand, has a total strength of around 140 MPs in Lok Sabha.
In Pune, Modi spoke of India's journey from "trust deficit" to "trust surplus". He cited a survey conducted at an international level and said India is the country where people trust their government the most.
In Lok Sabha, the government has insisted that there is no rule or precedence which make it mandatory for the House to take up the no-confidence motion immediately. It has argued that rules state the motion should be taken up for discussion within 10 working days of being admitted.
Congress whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said the House was adjourned after the opposition parties of the INDIA alliance demanded the presence of Modi and that he makes a statement on the Manipur issue.
He said the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of Lok Sabha was held at noon, during which the constituents of the INDIA alliance demanded that the no-confidence motion be brought up immediately.
"We wanted that the no-confidence motion be taken up tomorrow itself," Tagore said.
The Congress leader said that in the 16th Lok Sabha when the TDP moved a no-confidence motion, it was listed the next day. "Therefore, the delay is not proper. In protest, the INDIA alliance partners walked out of the speaker's business advisory committee of the Lok Sabha," he said.
DMK leader T R Balu said they walked out of the business advisory committee meeting as the government wanted them to endorse its decision to start a discussion on the no-confidence motion on August 8.
The opposition leaders have been citing Lok Sabha precedence and rules that the no-confidence motion be taken up first after setting aside all other government business. The motion was admitted by Speaker Birla on July 26.
The opposition used the no-trust motion route to make Modi speak inside Parliament on Manipur, as their pleas for holding a comprehensive debate on the situation in the violence-hit northeastern state has not yielded results.
The opposition parties have been demanding a statement from the prime minister on Manipur inside Parliament followed by an elaborate discussion in both houses.
