Team Herald
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday asserted that Prime Minister Modi will never allow a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha as a dictator who never allowed any such motion even against the Gujarat Assembly Speaker while ruling the state for 13 years as the chief minister. All three no-confidence motions brought by the Congress against the Assembly Speaker were blocked as otherwise it would have amounted to Modi’s censure, the Congress said.
Why else the government gets the budget and finance bill passed in the din but not allowing admission of the two no-confidence motions for discussion on the excuse of the ruckus by just two parties — AIADMK and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia asked.
He said the Congress blocked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement in the Lok Sabha on 39 Indians’ death in Iraq only because no government business can be allowed when a no-confidence motion is pending. He said the government is blocking the motion despite having a thumping majority in the House as it would otherwise give an opportunity to the Opposition to expose all its misdeeds, including the banking scam and Rafale aircraft scam.
In a joint press conference, Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Scindia accused the government of deliberately blocking Parliament for the last 12 days by making no efforts to end the daily ruckus. Why till today the parliamentary affairs ministry has not reached out to a single opposition party, they asked, noting that clearly the government does not want Parliament to discuss the no-confidence motion or the banking and other scams.
“We have all supported the no-confidence motions, but the government does not want a discussion on them. What to say of 50 MPs required for admission of the motion for discussion, every single opposition party member is standing up in the House in support of the no-confidence motion and yet it remains hanging for the last three days,” Scindia said.
The no-confidence motion is a parliamentary procedure to censure the government but PM Modi thinks it as an insult he just can not tolerate, he said.
He said there is a clearcut conspiracy of the government to ensure Parliament does not function as it does not want the no-confidence motion taken up as otherwise it can be easily taken up by suspending some MPs from the House to end the ruckus.
“The combined opposition is there in front of you today. We wanted a discussion on every issue, not only every issue, but also pm the important Bills. The budget was, however, passed without discussion in the House. Is it not trampling of democracy,” Azad and Scindia asked.
They dismissed as farce Home Minister Rajnath Singh and others in the government claiming readiness for discussion on the no-confidence motion and every other issue agitating the opposition members. The fact remains that the government has taken not a single initiative to let Parliament start functioning, they added.
