The debate on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, scheduled on Friday, is likely to be a review of its performance rather than a test of its numbers in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition maintained that it does not worry about the “arithmetic” in the Lower House but worries about the “present state” of the country.
The Congress and the other opposition parties said the trust vote would be an opportunity for them to expose the Centre’s failures. The party has been allotted 38 minutes to speak on the motion.
Regional players undecided
Although regional parties like the BJD (Odisha), TRS (Telangana) and the AIADMK (Tamil Nadu) are yet undecided on their vote. However, their stand may not make much difference to the result.
Leaders of the Congress held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the scenario. The party is likely to field its President Rahul Gandhi, its parliamentary party leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia to speak on behalf of the party. The party’s efforts will be to showcase Opposition unity and highlight maximum issues against the Centre during the debate.
Senior leader Anand Sharma told reporters that the effort would be to to show a mirror to the government.
“It is not only a question of numbers. We will use the occasion to expose the government and raise various issues concerning the people of the country and tell the truth to the people. This is the launch of a campaign which will send them packing in 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
‘Modi, a demagogue’
He alleged that the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet have begun believing in their own propaganda. “The Prime Minister is at best a demagogue and believes in hypocrisy,” he said. “The larger issue is that the country is in agony and the people are suffering. The image of the country has been tarnished internationally.”
The BJP said numbers are very clear. “The BJP by itself has a majority in the Lower House. We have nearly 314 members within the NDA and there are many other parties which are likely to oppose this no-confidence motion because this is completely pointless,” BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said. “We have the numbers and we have the moral fibre to fight this negative Opposition, which is only trying to put the country on the path of negativity,” he added.
CPI(M) Politburo member Mohammed Salim said it was not about winning or losing.
“The government is deliberately trying to divert people’s attention by saying the Opposition would lose the vote. They want to show that since the Opposition is losing, the issues they are discussing are of no use. That is certainly not the matter. The government is accountable to the people and must give answers to the questions raised by the Opposition,” he told reporters.