Politics
PM Narendra Modi
With two notices for a no-confidence motion against the government filed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (26 July), a comment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament in 2019 has gained widespread attention, with many in the ruling BJP considering it as his "prediction".
In a video of the debate on the President's speech in the Budget session on 7 February 2019, Prime Minister Modi can be heard saying that the opposition should be prepared for another no-confidence motion in 2023.
He was referring to his government successfully defeating a similar motion the previous year.
Without explicitly mentioning the Congress, PM Modi remarked on the shift in power dynamics, stating that it is a result of arrogance.
He highlighted the contrast between the current situation, where the ruling party has a majority, and the past when they were in the minority.
"This is Samarpan Bhav (service) that from two (MPs) we are sitting here (in power). And the result of ahankar (arrogance) is that from 400, you have come down to 40. Look where you are today..." he said, without naming the Congress, reports NDTV.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and other senior party leaders was present when PM Modi made the comments.
In 2018, the government successfully won a no confidence vote that was initiated by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) led by N Chandrababu Naidu and supported by various opposition parties.
Although the motion, supported by the INDIA coalition of opposition parties, is expected to be defeated in the Lok Sabha where the government holds a significant majority, its purpose reportedly is to compel PM Modi to make a statement on Manipur. The ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur have caused a continuous deadlock in Parliament since the Monsoon Session began on 20 July.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which is not part of the 'I.N.D.I.A' coalition, has also filed a separate no-confidence motion.