What is a no-confidence motion?
Let’s say you have a large group of friends. You all choose one person as the leader. Later, you and your friends feel the leader isn't making good choices. So, you may tell others in the group that you do not trust the leader's decisions.
A "no-confidence motion" is when all of your friends agree that they no longer believe in the leader and want to elect a new one. Similarly, a government is run by the party that receives the most votes. The ministers of the party make various decisions to run the country.
But there’s a rule that any Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP), with the agreement of 50 others, can introduce a no-confidence motion against the ruling party. It can be introduced as the group might feel that the ruling party is not doing its job well. Recently, a no-confidence motion was introduced in the Lok Sabha against the BJP government.
Who introduced the no-confidence motion?
On 26th July 2023, Congress Party MP Gaurav Gogoi introduced the motion. The opposition parties (I.N.D.I.A. alliance) have been asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to say something about the Manipur situation.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted the motion. The debate for the no-confidence motion was held on 8th August and 9th August 2023. PM Modi will respond to the debate today, 10th August 2023.
What happens in a no-confidence motion debate?
The person who first submitted the motion talks about it. Then the government responds to the motion. Then, the opposition parties talk about why they support the motion. Next, the members of the Lok Sabha vote. If the majority votes for the motion, the government must resign. If the government receives more votes for their support, it remains in power.
The present government is facing a no-confidence motion for the second time. The Telegu Desam Party (TDP) introduced the motion in 2018. The government easily won, as 325 MPs voted against the motion while only 126 supported it. This time also, chances are that the BJP government will win as they have the majority (so most votes will be in their favour).
