New Delhi, July 18: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday accepted the no-confidence motion moved by opposition parties, including the Congress and Telugu Desam Party, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government was ready for discussion on all issues on the floor of Parliament.
The no-trust move was initiated by the Oppposition on the first day of the Monsoon session.
Earlier, speaking to the media ahead of the session, Modi said, “We hope Parliament functions smoothly, whatever issues any party has, it can raise on the floor of the house. Government t is ready for discussion on all issues.”
He added, “Many important decisions in nation’s interest will be taken up in the Monsoon session . We hope for good suggestions and discussions from all experienced members.”
Earlier the prime minister’s office also hoped the session would be fruitful. It tweeted: “May the productivity of the forthcoming session and the rich levels of debate also become a source of inspiration for the various state assemblies.”
NDA’s estranged ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) served notice of a no-confidence motion to the Lok Sabha secretariat on Tuesday to be taken up on Wednesday. The Congress was also in talks with other like-minded parties to support similar moves, the party’s Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge said.
I hope the Monsoon Session is a productive one and the time is properly utilised to discuss important matters: PM @narendramodi at the start of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 18, 2018
Communist Party of India (Marxist) member of Parliament Mohammed Salim confirmed that the party too will try to move a no-confidence motion. “We will not do it on the first day as we want to discuss some other issues,” he said.
Regional groups like the Telugu Desam Party and its archrival YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), the ruling and main opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh, pushed no confidence motions against the government during the budget session of Parliament, but they weren’t taken up in the session in which proceedings were hit by numerous disruptions. Both are demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh, following its June 2014 bifurcation, which would entitle the state to special central grants and other incentives.
The Congress’s decision to join the fray makes it a bigger battle against the BJP-led government as other parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Samajwadi Party and Aaam Aadmi Party are expected to support the party.
Source Hindustan Times
