A no-confidence motion is an official process where the legislature expresses its lack of
confidence in the government. In India, the no-confidence motion can be brought up only in
the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament. To move a no-confidence motion, a
member of the Lok Sabha must give a written notice about the motion which should be
signed by at least 50 members present in the Lower House. Once the notice is received, the
Speaker of the House will decide whether to accept the motion for discussion. If the motion
is admitted, it will be discussed in the house and votes will be taken on the matter. If the
Government loses the votes, it will be forced to resign from its office.
A No-Confidence motion has been moved against the ruling Modi-government in the Lok
Sabha on Wednesday (July 26, 2023) by INDIA, the coalition of opposition parties amidst the
ongoing Manipur issue. This move marks the first such act in 20 years, with the previous
occurrence in 2003 against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
Sources said that all the Opposition parties stay united on this decision. This move comes
after four consecutive heated days of arguments in the ongoing Monsoon session 2023 in
the Parliament due to the Opposition’s demand for PM Modi’s statement on the cultural
violence in the Manipur state. The Opposition alliance INDIA aims to bring up the no-
confidence motion as a weapon to highlight the current Manipur issue and pressurize the
government to make the Prime Minister address on this matter in the Parliament, rather
than only the Union home Minister.
On Wednesday, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla accepted the No-confidence motion against the
Modi-government moved by the Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and the Speaker said that, ̎He
will allot specific date and time for the discussion. ̎ On the contrary, the Government said
that they are ready to discuss the Manipur issue in the House.
However, in Lok Sabha the motion is bound to fail the numbers test as the Modi-
Government enjoys a clear majority and are at no risk of loosing its office of term. The
majority mark in the lower house is at 272. The PM Modi- led NDA has 332 members in the
Lok Sabha with BJP alone having 301 members. On the other side, the Opposition alliance
including Congress has, about 141 members. This means, if it comes to vote it can easily be
defeated by the ruling BJP.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who moved the motion said, ̎INDIA alliance is aware of its
numbers in the Lok Sabha but this is not just about numbers. This is about Manipur's fight
for justice. A message should go out to the brothers and sisters of Manipur that PM Modi
might have sidelined Manipur but INDIA alliance stands with them in this hour of sorrow
and pain and we are fighting for their rights, inside the Parliament. ̎
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