The motion of no-confidence against the council of ministers led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bound to be negated by the House, as the Opposition is in an abysmal minority and is aware of the outcome of the motion.
Yet, blind followers of the government in office and a large part of the mainstream media, especially television anchors, will be jubilant on August 10 after the rejection of the motion, looking at it as a victory for Modi and his council of ministers.
Even in its defeat on the motion of no-confidence, it will be a victory for the Opposition parties, primarily those under the banner of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Their victory will be in forcing the prime minister to come to the Lok Sabha and speak, in reply to the motion and to defend his actions and inactions.
Having struggled for several days to get Modi to come to the House and speak on the continued communal violence in Manipur and the horrifying treatment meted out to some women in the state, the Opposition was left with only one parliamentary tool to force him to attend the House — a no-trust motion. It is different from a censure motion, which does not threaten the survival of the government and need not be moved against the entire council of ministers.
Without moving a censure motion in the Lok Sabha, Modi has been censured, so to say, by the Opposition in the House and by the Supreme Court, while hearing petitions on Manipur, when Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said that there is a complete breakdown of the Constitutional as well as law and order machinery.
In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition has been demanding from the first day of the current session of the proceedings, that there should be a full-fledged discussion on the situation in Manipur and that the prime minister should speak on the subject. This is censure of a kind, as the Opposition has been repeatedly raising the matter inside Parliament and outside, while Modi has kept himself away from the seat of democracy.
Article 355 of our Constitution states, “It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” As the head of the government, it is the duty of the Prime Minister to adhere to the Constitution and in the current situation to the provisions of Article 355, but he has miserably failed on that count.
Even the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has taken enough time to decide on the date for the discussion on the no-confidence motion; this must be because Modi is not prepared to speak on such a serious issue. He is a good orator when it comes to speaking on frivolous issues or while blaming the Congress time and again. He fumbles when it comes to speaking on serious issues.
The delay in calling for a discussion on the motion, moved under Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Lok Sabha, reminds one of the reaction of Prime Minister Morarji Desai, when a no-confidence motion was sought to be moved against him. He told the Speaker of the House, “May I say that I was expecting this no-confidence motion for some time? At any rate it has done one good and that is, it has combined the two who were not combined (Congress and Marxists). It will also help me to strengthen my party. I would like this to be taken up today because such things should not be left in suspense. I would not like to remain here for one minute longer if the No Confidence Motion is adopted. Let it be done today. I welcome it and let it be done today.”
Modi is not scared of being voted out, given his party’s strength in the Lok Sabha, but he is surely worried as to what he should say in Parliament, not just on the solution to the Manipur issue but also how he plans to handle problems of unemployment, price rise and above all the rising communalism in the country.
The level of discussion and debate in Parliament has deteriorated drastically in recent years. The no-confidence motion is an opportunity for saner minds to display their oratory and to show their faith in democracy, allowing members to speak without interruption. This is neither the time for histrionics or hooliganism, nor is it the time for filibustering by members of the ruling alliance. Filibustering requires talent, intelligence, sufficient material to speak and oratorial skills, which are qualities difficult to find in an individual in the ruling alliance, so that will not be witnessed in the House during the discussion.
Veterans, who have observed the functioning of the Lok Sabha in yesteryears, will recall the likes of Madhu Limaye, Ram Manohar Lohia, Jyoti Basu, Gita Mukherjee, Shripad Amrut Dange, Indrajit Gupta, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jawaharlal Nehru and George Fernandes, who were known to make great speeches in Parliament.
Prime Minister Modi’s performance, while replying to the no-confidence motion, will be watched by many. This will not be the time for him to run away from the points to be raised by the Opposition, the way he has avoided speaking on sensitive issues like intrusion of China on our territory or the charges of financial bungling by Gautam Adani and his companies.
If he fails to give a proper reply, he will survive the vote of no-confidence but will be defeated in the battle for democracy.
The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi
