The news of the week is that the Opposition moved its no-confidence motion yesterday against the Modi government. This was after days of logjam in Parliament as the Opposition insisted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must make a statement on the Manipur issue.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted the motion and said he would schedule the date to discuss the motion after consulting party leaders.
Several editorials in leading English newspapers discussed what might come to pass.
The Hindu said the no-confidence motion was a “way of forcing Mr Modi to speak on the issue” but “considering how he has responded until now, that might be a bit too optimistic”. Instead, any chance for a discussion must be “seized”.
“The discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha is likely to be a continuation of the obfuscation of the issue by the BJP and the persistent demand by the Opposition…The demand for a comprehensive statement by the Prime Minister is legitimate, but the Opposition must understand that it serves no purpose if the outcome is no discussion. It must seize whatever opportunity it gets for a discussion in Parliament, and take the protest to public places outside.”
Indian Express said the motion was “welcome” since it “breaks the impasse” that has built up since the monsoon session began last week.
“This political stalemate has been a terrible let-down,” the editorial said. “...That Parliament is in session, but this most urgent issue could not enter the House, that a larger collective reckoning was held hostage to a short-term confrontational politics, did not speak well of the responsiveness and responsibility of parliamentary politics and institutions in a moment of crisis.”
This was a moment for “parties and players” to “rise above the narrow and the partisan”, the editorial concluded, because “Manipur needs nothing less”.
The Telegraph was more blunt in its criticism of Modi’s silence, saying he had once “accused” and “mocked” his predecessor of it but now sought “refuge behind a grey silence”.
“The outcome of the motion is irrelevant: Mr Modi’s government has the numbers to pass the test. The objective, evidently, is to score a moral point and the Opposition has succeeded in this. The irony, however, is palpable. That the Opposition has to rely on innovative strategies to make the prime minister speak, a prerequisite in any democracy, would surely count as a novel feature of the mother of democracy.”
Hindustan Times said the motion would be a “parliamentary test for INDIA”, because the new Opposition alliance had “struggled to put together a united front in Parliament till as late as the budget session”.
“A strong showing during the monsoon session is no guarantee that INDIA will be able to meet the thornier challenges of seat sharing and electoral performance. But it’s a start. The 2024 polls are forcing significant alignments in the political space, and these look set to stay, at least till the last vote is cast.”
Newslaundry had analysed the four major challenges that await the INDIA alliance. Read all about them here.
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