NEW DELHI: The Indian parliament started a heated debate on Tuesday over a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over shameful silence about Manipur state violence. This development came a day after Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition Congress party, made his return to the house. The Congress party initiated the debate with the objective of compelling Prime Minister Modi to address the prolonged and lethal ethnic conflicts in the northeastern Manipur state. A potential vote on the motion is slated for Thursday.
Government minister Kiren Rijiju responded to the motion by suggesting that it had been brought forward at an “extremely bad time” and asserted that the Congress party would eventually regret its decision.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holding 303 seats in the 543-member lower house following the 2019 election, it is widely anticipated that the no-confidence motion will be defeated by a comfortable margin. The BJP has characterized the motion as a headline-seeking ploy with little substantive impact.
The reinstatement of Rahul Gandhi, scion of India’s prominent political dynasty, into parliament occurred on Monday, following a Supreme Court decision to suspend his defamation conviction related to critical comments about Prime Minister Modi. Gandhi’s conviction, handed down in March, had ignited concerns about stifling political dissent in the world’s largest democracy.
Furious Speeches in Indian Parliament
Speaking amidst a tumultuous parliamentary session, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi asserted, “This no-confidence motion is our necessity… This was never about the numbers but justice for Manipur.” The motion seeks to shed light on the ongoing conflict in Manipur, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 120 individuals since May. The clashes have primarily involved the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki community.
Soldiers from other regions of India were deployed to quell the violence, leading to the imposition of curfews and internet shutdowns across most of Manipur.
In response, BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey characterized the Congress party’s no-confidence motion as a strategic move to bolster Rahul Gandhi’s political trajectory.
Despite his return to parliament, Gandhi has yet to address the legislative body. His Congress party, once a dominant political force, has faced electoral defeats in the last two elections against Modi’s BJP.
Gandhi, a representative from the southern state of Kerala, hails from a lineage of former prime ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, a prominent leader in the Indian independence movement.
