No-Confidence Against Govt: Rahul Gandhi To Speak Tomorrow; Will He Repeat Modi Hug?

New Delhi: As Narendra Modi faces a no-confidence motion in Parliament on Tuesday, the nation will be all ears to Rahul Gandhi, besides the Prime Minister.

The Congress leader, who returned as an MP on Monday four months after being disqualified from Parliament, is set to participate in the no-confidence motion debate on Manipur violence tomorrow.

It will be interesting to see what Rahul says in Parliament on the raging Manipur issue, having visited the north-eastern state in June.

Rahul’s disqualification from Lok Sabha was revoked after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remarks.

The no-confidence motion against the Central government, moved by Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi, was admitted by Lok Sabha Speaker on July 26 as the Opposition wanted Modi to address the Manipur issue in Parliament.

How Discussions Will Proceed

The Lok Sabha business advisory committee has allocated three days for a discussion on the no-confidence motion. The Prime Minister will reply to the motion on August 10.

The discussion will start at 12 noon tomorrow, and go on till 7 pm.

The same schedule will be maintained for three days, unless the Chairman of the House decides to give speakers extra time.

On the last day (Thursday), the Prime Minister is scheduled to respond to the no-confidence motion, at 4 pm.

This is the second no-confidence motion Modi will be facing as PM.

The first one took place on July 20, 2018, after BJP’s former ally Telugu Desam Party submitted a notice over alleged non-allocation of funds to Andhra Pradesh.

The Modi government had defeated the motion by 199 votes after a 12-hour debate.

The Hug & Wink Of 2018

The highlight of the 2018 no-confidence debate was Rahul’s surprise hug and wink for Modi as he walked towards Treasury benches after his nearly hour-long speech on the motion.

In his reply, Modi drew everyone’s attention to Rahul’s ‘wink’ that followed the hug, and interpreted it as theatrics by the Congress leader.

It remains to be seen if Rahul repeats the hug.

Numbers Favour Govt, Opposition Wants To Hear PM

Like in 2018, the numbers are stacked heavily in the government’s favour.

With the halfway mark in Lok Sabha being 272, BJP’s strength alone is 301. With NDA allies, the saffron party is expected to sail through the latest test.

The Opposition INDIA bloc, consisting of 26 parties, claim that the purpose of this exercise is to compel Modi to speak on Manipur issue in Parliament.