- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The PM, who tore into the opposition in a hours-long speech, assured that people of Manipur saying that the country and the parliament were with them.
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE Narendra Modi government emerged with a smile on Thursday (10) as the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party was defeated by voice vote in the Lok Sabha or Lower House of the parliament.
The opposition, which staged a walkout as the PM spoke, had moved the no-trust motion against the government in July over the situation in the north-eastern state of Manipur and it was taken up for discussion by House speaker Om Birla on Tuesday (8) for three days.
The motion witnessed fierce debates between the two sides over Manipur and other pressing issues and eventually, the Modi government which has a brute majority in the House, had the last laugh.
It is the second time that Modi faced a no-confidence motion after 2018 when a no-trust move was initiated by the Telugu Desam Party over non-allocation of adequate funds to the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It was comprehensively defeated.
The NDA has a more than 330 parliamentarians in the 543-member strong Lok Sabha while the opposition bloc INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) has a combined strength of 144. Unaligned parties account for 70 MPs many of whom supported the government.
Modi, who took part in the debate on Thursday and gave a speech extending beyond two hours, tore into the opposition but assured that people of Manipur saying that the country and the parliament were with them.
“I want to tell the mothers and sisters of Manipur that the country and the parliament are with you. I want to assure the people of Manipur that we will work to develop Manipur,” Modi, who has been accused by the opposition of remaining silent on Manipur which is witnessing devastating ethnic clashes since May 3, said even as he flayed the opposition over the no-confidence motion.
The PM also said that opposition’s no confidence motion has always proved to be lucky for the NDA government.
“In a way, the Opposition’s no confidence has always been lucky for us. Today, I can see that you (Opposition) have decided that NDA and BJP will come back in the 2024 elections with a grand victory, breaking all previous records, with the blessings of the people,” he said, adding that the people of the country “have shown their trust in our government again and again”.
The opposition parliamentarians walked out of the House as the PM spoke reportedly to protest against his “obstinate refusal” to address the reasons behind the no-confidence motion.
Modi reacted to the walkout saying “they don’t have patience”.
When the prime minister criticised the INDIA grouping’s approach to the economy an hour and half into his speech, the opposition started walking out with Rahul Gandhi at the forefront.
Even as the MPs left, Modi said, “Those who don’t believe in democracy are always ready to speak, but don’t have the patience to listen. Abuse and leave. Litter and leave. Spread lies and leave. This is their game. This country cannot expect much from them.”
