In response to the ongoing strife in Manipur, opposition parties belonging to I.N.D.I.A. (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) block have taken a significant step. The INC (Indian National Congress) and BRS (Bharat Rastra Samithi) have submitted No Confidence Motion notice in Lok Sabha against PM Narendra Modi’s government over the Manipur issue. The motion has been accepted by the speaker and he will announce the debate soon.
A motion of No Confidence can be introduced in Lok Sabha only and by opposition alone. Any member of LOK SABHA can move a no confidence motion but it must be supported by at least 50 members of the house (Lok Sabha) and it must be in written form.
The no confidence motion signifies that union Govt has lost the confidence of Parliament. It allows the opposition to challenge the government’s majority and ability to govern.
Passing of No Confidence motion means resignation of Prime Minister. (Prime Minister’s resignation means resignation of the whole of Union Council of Minister)
After a no confidence motion in moved, the speaker decides whether to admit the motion for discussion and debate or not. If admitted, the date and time for the discussion are determined. The date for the motion must be scheduled within 10 days of its acceptance.
The motion is debated in Lok Sabha followed by response from government and an opportunity for the opposition parties to speak on it.
After the debate, the Lok Sabha votes on the motion. A no confidence motion is passed if supported by simple majority (more than half of the members present and voting). Passing of No Confidence motion results into resignation of Prime Minister. If No Confidence motion is rejected, the union government will continue to function i.e. remains in power.
Important Note: Rajya Sabha is powerless on the issue of No confidence motion. No Confidence Motion can neither be introduced nor discussed in Rajya Sabha. Union govt is responsible / answerable to Lok Sabha only and continue to function till it has the majority support of Lok Sabha.
Article 75(3) of the Constitution states that the Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha. It remains in power till it enjoys the majority support of Lok Sabha.
Important Note: Similar is the provision of No Confidence Motion in States. A Motion of No Confidence can be introduced against the state government only in Vidhan Sabha (State Legislative Assembly) by opposition alone. Passing of No Confidence motion results into resignation of Chief Minister. (Chief Minister’s resignation means resignation of the whole of State Council of Minister). If No Confidence motion is rejected, the State government will continue to function i.e. it remains in power.
Important Note: Vidhan Parishad (State Legislative Council) is powerless on the issue of No confidence motion. No Confidence Motion can neither be introduced nor discussed in Vidhan Parishad. State govt is responsible and answerable to Vidhan Sabha only and continue to function till it has the majority support of Vidhan Sabha. [Article 164(2)]
History of No Confidence Motion against Union Government
The first no motion confidence motion was moved in 1963 against the government of Jawahar Lal Nehru. The last one was in 2018 moved by TRS against the previous Narendra Modi Government. This is the 28th no confidence motion.
Morarji Desai govt in 1979 was the first to succumb due to no confidence motion. No confidence motion was also introduced against Chaudhary Charan Singh’s government in 1979 and resulted into his resignation. In 1999, Atal Bihari govt narrowly lost the no confidence motion by a single vote forcing him to resign.
Is Modi Government in crisis due to No Confidence Motion
The strength of Lok Sabha is 543. Currently NDA government has 331 Lok Sabha members with the BJP alone having 303 members. The newly formed INDIA alliance has 144 MP’s while neutral parties i.e. not connected with either NDA or INDIA have nearly 65 members. This means that even if all Non-NDA parties come together (which is highly unlikely), the NDA govt still has the numbers to survive a no confidence motion.
