Amid the clamour from the Opposition for a debate on the vote of no confidence filed against the Centre in the Lok Sabha over the Manipur situation, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the government was confident it had numbers to sail through a no-confidence vote, should it happen.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the seventh day of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament on Friday, the Union Minister said, “They (Opposition) do not take part in discussions and neither cooperate in ensuring passage of Bills in Parliament. We were ready to take constructive suggestions from them, but they brought a no-confidence motion all of a sudden. We will have discussions on the no-confidence motion as and when required. We are not too worried as we have the numbers (to survive the vote of no confidence).”
Joshi also said there is no better floor than Parliament to discuss the prevailing situation in Manipur.
“If they want the truth (regarding Manipur) to come out, there is no better floor than this (Parliament) for a discussion and debate,” he added.
Members of the grand Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A, have been adamant on the demand that all listed businesses in both Houses be aside for a discussion on the Manipur situation.
They have also been insisting on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prevailing state of affairs in the Northeast state.
The Opposition members are also pushing for the demand that the Lok Sabha Speaker set a date for voting on the no-confidence motion against the Centre filed earlier.
The motion, on behalf of the Opposition alliance, was tabled earlier by Congress Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi.
Further, Opposition parties on Friday alleged that the government was “subverting” parliamentary traditions by passing Bills even after the motion of no confidence was accepted by the Speaker at the Lok Sabha.
Borrowing the words of former Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Congress MP Manish Tiwari said, “On July 26, 1966, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, the then Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, made a significant statement in the Lok Sabha regarding No-Confidence Motion. He said, ‘I do concede that whenever there is a no-confidence motion, no substantive motion should he brought just to forestall the whole thing’.”
“These are the Parliamentary traditions that are being subverted by passing bill after bill at a time when a no-confidence motion has been submitted and allowed,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, also demanded an immediate discussion on the no-confidence motion.
“We have moved a no-confidence motion under Rule 198. As per this rule, a discussion on the motion should happen immediately,” he said.
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also objected to the tabling and passing of the Bills in both Houses, saying, “no Bill is introduced in Parliament after a no-confidence motion is accepted by the Lok Sabha Speaker”.
“But we are seeing that several Bills are being introduced and passed in Parliament,” he told ANI.
AAP’s Raghav Chadha urged the Speaker to ensure that no legislative business takes place in the Lower House till the no-confidence motion is debated.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, as reported by Joint Committee, was passed in Lok Sabha on Thursday after the House resumed at 3 pm amid sloganeering by the Opposition members over Manipur. (ANI)