The Congress and Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) have submitted a No-Confidence Motion notice in the Lok Sabha against PM Narendra Modi’s Government regarding the Manipur issue. The notice has been accepted, and the date for the debate will be announced soon. The motion was submitted by Gaurav Gogoi from Congress and Nageshwar Rao from BRS.
However, PM Modi’s Government, which has a majority of at least 332 MPs in the Lok Sabha, is not at risk from this no-confidence motion.
Reason
The No-Confidence Motion has been brought forward primarily due to the ongoing Manipur issue, which has resulted in the loss of over 125 lives and the displacement of thousands. The government’s failure to resolve the conflict, even after three months of violence, has led to a deadlock in both houses of parliament since the monsoon session began on 20th July.
The combined opposition, INDIA, aims to use the debate as an opportunity to draw attention to the Manipur issue and put pressure on the government to address it effectively in the Parliament.
No-Confidence Motion
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary procedure whereby a legislature expresses its lack of confidence in the government, essentially a vote of no confidence. If a motion of no confidence is passed, the government must resign or call a new election.
Constitution
In India, the procedure for a No-Confidence Motion is outlined in Article 75 of the Indian Constitution. Article 75 deals with the appointment of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
Clause (3) of Article 75 states the following regarding a No-Confidence Motion: “The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The President shall appoint the Prime Minister and other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Ministers shall hold office at the pleasure of the President. They shall be collectively responsible for the Council of Ministers to the House of the People.”
- This article establishes the principle of collective responsibility, where the Council of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, is responsible to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
- The Council of Ministers holds office as long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha.
- If a No-Confidence Motion is passed in the Lok Sabha, the Council of Ministers is deemed to have lost the confidence of the house, and it is expected to resign.
- This article also empowers the President of India to appoint the Prime Minister and other ministers based on the advice of the Prime Minister and to administer the oaths of office and secrecy to the ministers.
Thus, Article 75 is the constitutional provision that underpins the process of No-Confidence Motion in India, ensuring accountability and democratic checks and balances on the government’s functioning.
Procedure
In India, a motion of no confidence can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India) and after at least 50 members of Parliament support it, the Speaker may grant leave and after considering the state of business in the House, allot a day or days or part of a day for the discussion of the motion (under sub-rule (2) and (3) of rule 198 of Lok Sabha Rules, 16th edition).
The motion is then debated in the Lok Sabha, and if a majority of members vote against the government, the government is defeated and must resign. The President of India then has the option of asking the government to form a new government with the support of other parties or to dissolve the Lok Sabha and call for new elections.
Previous No-Confidence Motions
- The first motion of no confidence in India was moved in 1963 against the government of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The motion was defeated, but it set a precedent for future motions of no confidence.
- Since then, there have been a total of 10 motions of no confidence in the Lok Sabha, of which only one has been successful.
- In 1980, the Janata Party government led by Morarji Desai was defeated by a motion of no confidence moved by the Congress Party.
- The most recent motion of no confidence was moved in 2018 against the Narendra Modi government. The motion was defeated, but it led to a fierce debate in the Lok Sabha and raised questions about the government’s handling of various issues.
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