No-Confidence Motion: Debate Set To Begin On 8 August; BJP To Get Support From BJD And YSRCP Over NDA's Own Majority

The Lok Sabha has scheduled a date for the no-confidence motion, with the debate set to begin on 8 August.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to respond to the motion on 10 August.

The focus has now shifted to the core arguments that both sides will present to support their case.

The Opposition has expressed concerns about the Manipur issue and the Prime Minister's refusal to address it in Parliament.

Meanwhile, BJP is preparing data to highlight the historical challenges faced in the Northeast, where the Congress has mostly held control.

The Opposition sees this as a crucial opportunity to challenge the Modi government's "double-engine government" argument before key state elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP received a significant boost on Tuesday (1 August) when the BJD announced its support for the government on the no-confidence motion.

Previously, the YSRCP had also declared its intention to vote against the motion, despite not being aligned with either the NDA or the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

The NDA government, with a total of 331 MPs on its side, including 303 of its own, along with the support of the YSRCP's 22 MPs and the BJD's 12 MPs, holds a significant advantage in the motion with a majority mark of 272.

The outcome of the debate, expected to be stormy given the recent turbulent House session, will ultimately depend on which side can score more political points.

The Opposition bloc parties, after walking out of a Business Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday, have demanded that the no-confidence debate be given priority.

Among the parties that have declared their intention to vote against the government on the motion are the Opposition bloc and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

They have also demanded that the government refrain from pushing through its legislative agenda while the no-confidence motion is pending.

Congress whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, stated, "We wanted the no-confidence motion taken up tomorrow itself".

The government has argued that there are no specific rules or precedents regarding the scheduling of the debate, emphasising that the Speaker has a period of 10 days to arrange for the discussion after the motion has been admitted.

Since the start of the Monsoon Session on 20 July, the two Houses of Parliament have experienced continuous stall due to the Opposition's demand for Prime Minister Modi to address the Manipur situation on the House floor.

The Opposition believes that a no-confidence motion would compel the PM to speak.

The BJP has raised questions about the Opposition's insistence on a statement from PM Modi and has expressed readiness for a discussion with Home Minister Amit Shah providing a response.

The BJP argues that it is the Opposition that is avoiding a debate.

Piyush Goyal, the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, stated on Monday that the Opposition's reluctance to engage in a discussion may be due to fears that it could expose some uncomfortable truths of theirs or highlight the positive changes brought about by the NDA government in the Northeast.

"Anyway, it is clear that they are running away from a discussion," Goyal said, reports Indian Express.

The BJP remains unconcerned, whether or not a no-confidence motion is introduced.

During the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha in 2018, BJP leaders recall how Prime Minister Modi fiercely attacked the Congress in his response.

PM Modi's powerful speech during that no-confidence motion debate set the tone for the subsequent 2019 Lok Sabha elections, according to a senior BJP leader.

They further stated that their party's speakers will once again make sure that the Opposition regrets their decision to bring forth a no-trust motion.