Monsoon Session of Parliament LIVE updates: After a 12-hour-long session of the Lok Sabha, the Modi government defeated the no-confidence motion brought against it with a thumping majority. The government sailed through the voting with 325 votes in its favour, while the Opposition gathered support of 126 MPs. **"**The Congress party has no faith in the Election Commission of India, they lack trust in the judiciary, the CJI and the RBI. They don’t believe in the international agencies. They have confidence in nothing. The entire nation has faith, but they don’t trust. This is because they ;ack self-confidence," Modi said. Rahul Gandhi has reacted to France’s statement on Rafale deal and said that the French government may deny it if they want but he stands by what he said. “Let them deny it if they want. He (French President) said that before me. I was there, Anand Sharma and Dr.Manmohan Singh were also present,” Rahul said. According to ANI, the French government has taken note of Rahul Gandhi’s statement in the Parliament and issued a statement clarifying that India did sign a confidentiality agreement in 2008, which legally binds the two States to protect the classified information provided by the partner. The French government further said: “These provisions naturally apply to the IGA concluded on 23 September 2016 on the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft and their weapons.” Firing up the attack on Opposition unity, Rajnath Singh said that the Mahagathbandhan has come together only to oppose one man but the internal lack of trust is such that they can’t even decide who will leave the front. Reports said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will move a privilege motion against Rahul Gandhi for misleading the Parliament and leveling ‘false accusations’ against Union ministers without substantial proof. AITMC sharpened its attack against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha. Party MP Saugata Roy said that the prime minister’s globe trotting cost India around Rs 18,000 crore while poor farmers continue to die. He called Modi a feriwala and a travelling salesman. Congress president Rahul Gandhi asserted in the Lok Sabha that he had no hatred against the prime minister. “You think I hate the prime minister, but I am grateful to BJP, Modi and RSS. They made me understand the meaning of Congress. They made me understand the meaning of ‘Hindustani’. This Modi, and BJP-RSS has made me realise. You have made me understand the meaning of being a Hindu. I am ‘Pappu’ for you, but I have no hatred against you,” he said. After the speech Rahul walked to Modi and hugged him. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, " Defence minister is sitting here. She first said that she will reveal details of the jet prices. After that, defence minister clearly said that she can’t reveal the figures because there is a secrecy pact between the French and Indian government. I met the French prime minister that is there a pact, but he said that there is no such pact between the two countries." BJP MP Rakesh Singh, the first speaker from the BJP’s side, targetted the Congress during his speech. “Congress did a politics of scams in 70 years, while the BJP brought schemes in the past 4 and a half years… Congress can’t accept any govt that is not run by a particular family. This no-confidence motion is nothing but an attempt to stop our victory march to 2019,” he said. TDP MP Jayadev Galla was the first speaker during the debate on no-confidence motion. The no-confidence motion had been moved by the TDP for four reasons: Lack of trust, priority, unbiased approach towards Andhra Pradesh," he said. “Telangana is not a new state, Andhra Pradesh is,” he said. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that the motion of no-confidence debate will begin now and the voting will be held at 6pm. “If the House agrees, we will skip lunch,” she said. Mallikarjun Kharge raised concern over the allotment of 38 minutes for Congress. Meanwhile, BJD MPs staged a walkout. Eighteen Lok Sabha MPs from the Shiv Sena will abstain from voting on Friday. Speaking to India Today, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the party will neither vote in favour of BJP nor vote against it. According to reports, Lok Sabha MPs from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi have decided to stage a walkout during the no-trust vote on Friday. This comes amid speculations in the political circles that party chief K Chandrashekar Rao wants to take a neutral stand. In its mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena listed out several issues it has with the BJP and accused it of practicing mobocracy. “We became the fifth largest economy in the world. Okay, but the fifth largest economy has not rescued our farmers from the door of death,” it said. However, it said that the BJP will defeat the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on Friday because it has the numbers. The Narendra Modi government is expected to sail through the first no-confidence motion in four years in the Lok Sabha on Thursday with all eyes on fence sitters such as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Biju Janata Dal and the day-long debate that is likely to set the agenda for the 2019 general elections. Though the numbers are heavily stacked against the Opposition, the Congress and other parties indicated on Thursday that they are keen to utilise the debate to attack the government on a range of issues including farm distress, slow economic growth and rising incidents of lynching. The BJP, on the other hand, is seeking to expand the guaranteed support of 313 members after estranged ally Shiv Sena originally said it would back the government and look for support from regional parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). It would try to weaken the anti-BJP front by eroding the support for the no-trust motion and deplete the Opposition numbers. [caption id=“attachment_4488245” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Representational image. PTI[/caption] In a House of 534 MPs, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 313 members including 274 (including the Speaker) of BJP, 18 of Shiv Sena, six of Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP and four from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The majority mark in the House is 268. There are 11 vacancies. As the Opposition and the government geared up for the no-trust motion, the first in 15 years, Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami hinted his party AIADMK might not back the motion. The AIADMK has 37 MPs and its abstention during voting is also not being ruled out. The previous no-trust motion that was moved by the Congress against the Vajpayee government in 2003 was defeated. The ruling BJD in Odisha said it will reveal its stand on the motion on the floor of the House on Friday. The BJD has 19 MPs. All the key parties including the BJP and the Congress have issued whips to ensure the presence of all its members in the House. The debate is scheduled to start at 11 am. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday said discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by BJP’s former ally TDP and others will be held for the full day followed by voting on it. The BJP claimed it will comfortably sail through the no-confidence motion and that it is hopeful of getting support from several non-NDA parties. “Government has the strength in the House to defeat the motion if one calculates by Indian mathematics… and I do not know which country’s mathematics she is using to calculate the numbers,” BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on the sidelines of an event, reacting to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s claim that the Opposition had the numbers. Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar also took a dig at the Congress leader, saying, “Sonia Gandhi’s maths is weak.” “We will get new support. It will be from the South, East and all other directions. “The numbers are very clear. The BJP by itself has a majority in the lower House. We have nearly 314 members within the NDA and there are many other parties which are likely to oppose this no-confidence motion,” BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said. The Congress, however, said it is not only a question of numbers. “It is not only a question of numbers. The Opposition will raise various issues concerning the people of the country. Our campaign is to expose the government and tell the truth to the people,” senior spokesperson of the Congress Anand Sharma told reporters. He said the Congress and other Opposition parties will use the occasion to highlight the failures of the government and show them the mirror. “This is the launch of a campaign which will send them packing in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.” The Congress had a strategy meeting of its Lok Sabha MPs presided by Sonia Gandhi during which it was decided to attack the government on farm distress among other issues during the debate. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will lead the charge for the Congress, according to the party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech is likely to paint Congress and other Opposition parties as an “opportunistic alliance” with the sole aim of dislodging him from power. Ahead of Assembly polls in four states due later this year and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders see the debate as an opportunity to reach out to the masses with various “successes” of the government and also to attack the “opportunist alliance” of Opposition parties. The Opposition parties have brought the motion against the government on several issues like special status to Andhra Pradesh, cow vigilantism, lynchings, atrocities against women and Dalits and alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act. According to projections by the BJP’s floor managers, the government is also likely to get support from small parties outside the NDA such as Anbumani Ramadoss’s PMK and Raju Shetty-led Swabhimani Paksha. Abstention by some Opposition parties is also not being ruled out. The stated strength of the Opposition is 220, including 63 of the Congress-led UPA, 37 of AIADMK, 34 of Trinamool Congress (TMC), 19 of BJD, 16 of TDP and 11 of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to accept the motion moved by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and others came on the very first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on Wednesday, a move that caught the Opposition by surprise. With inputs from PTI
No-confidence motion updates: Rahul calls PM's speech weak, TDP finds it disappointing as NDA sails through no-trust vote with 325 votes
Congress president Rahul Gandhi asserted in the Lok Sabha that he had no hatred against the prime minister. “You think I hate the prime minister, but I am grateful to BJP, Modi and RSS. They made me understand the meaning of Congress. They made me understand the meaning of ‘Hindustani’. This Modi, and BJP-RSS has made me realise. You have made me understand the meaning of being a Hindu. I am ‘Pappu’ for you, but I have no hatred against you,” he said. After the speech Rahul walked to Modi and hugged him.
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Modi speech full of dramebaazi**,** says Mallikarjun Kharge
“We posed questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Rafale deal, Nirav Modi etc but he didn’t answer any. His speech was ‘dramebaazi.’ He didn’t say anything for people of Andhra Pradesh. He was telling us what previous governments have done and not what his government has done in foru years,” Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Modi may have numbers, but he lost on morality, says TDP MP K Srinivas
“It is not about majority, it is about morality. Morality won today. We wanted to showcase the failures of Modi and his government. You take unemployment, farmers distress, economic slowdown and more. He has failed on every aspect and lost trust of people of the country,” K Srinivas told
It is not about majority, it is about morality. Morality won today. We wanted to showcase failures of PM and his govt. You take unemployment, farmers distress, economic slowdown and more. He has failed on every aspect and lost trust of people of the country: TDP MP K Srinivas pic.twitter.com/jASeNVyhmC
— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2018 “>ANI outside Parliament
Rahul Gandhi dubs Modi’s speech ‘weak’, Sonia calls it old rhetoric
Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha “weak”, while former party chief Sonia Gandhi dubbed it as “old rhetoric”.
Modi, in his speech, had said the Congress party had misused the no-confidence motions to spread instability in the country to ensure that the Gandhi family remains in power. When asked about how was the prime minister’s speech while he was coming out of Parliament, Rahul said it was “weak”. Sonia Gandhi told reporters that the prime minister’s speech was “old rhetoric”.
Prime Minister Modi an arrogant man, ignoring Andhra Pradesh’s issues because we lack numbers: Chandrababu Naidu
Chandrababu Naidu said, “Instead of doing justice to Andhra Pradesh, the prime minister used the debate to politically attack me. He alleges that Opposition is arrogant. It is the prime minister who has arrogance.”
“It is sad to see a man of the stature of the prime minister is talking irresponsibly. The Centre is showing negligence because we don’t have numbers,” Naidu said.
Modi thanks supporting parties in tweet, says fight to transform India will continue
Disappointed in parliamentary proceedings, says Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu says, “Disappointed with the proceedings in Parliament. Whole of Andhra was waiting for justice to be done. Prime Minister Modi again spoke as if Andhra Pradesh was not part of India.”
Modi speech high in rhetoric, low on substance, says Congress party
“Instead of replying on the questions raised by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and various other Opposition leaders, Narendra Modi speech his high on rhetoric and has very less substance in it, the Congress party said.
DMK’s MK Stalin attacks AIADMK for supporting Modi govt in no-trust vote
Taking to Twitter, DMK working president MK Stalin attacked rival AIADMK for supporting the government. He said: “Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between AIADMK and BJP. I-T raids on Chief Minister Edapadi Palaniswami’s family have achieved their objective.”
Congress will get 10 seats in 2019, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey after winning trust vote
No-confidence motion defeated in House
After **12-**hour-long debate, Motion of No-Confidence defeated by voice and division vote
Mahajan tabled the motion for a voice vote first, after which she ruled that the Treasury benches have won the poll. Following this, the division vote was recorded with the help of automatic vote recording system. The Modi government sailed through the vote with 325 votes. The Opposition gathered 126 votes against the government.
Sumitra Mahajan cuts short TDP MP’s speech, conducts vote on motion of no-confidence
As TDP MP Kesineni Srinivas said that Prime Minister Modi was good in theatrics, Mahajan angrily interrupted that you are not replying in a factual manner, the House is out of time.
Both BJP, Congress responsible for Andhra’s plight, says TDP MP Kesineni Srinivas
“I thought for one and a half hours I was watching a Bollywood blockbuster film. I have no doubt PM would have been the best actor in the world,” Srinivas said. He added that BJP MP form Andhra Hari Babu Kambhampati accepted that both the Congress and BJP were responsible for the unscientific bifurcation of the state. “But what is your present government doing for us,” Srinivas asked.
My best wishes to you for bringing no-confidence motion in 2024, says Modi
The prime minister ended his speech by throwing a challenge to the Opposition in 2024 and said, “We will do everything for the people of the country. I once again ask them to bring another no-confidence motion in 2024.”
Modi comments on mob attacks, says I condemn violence
“Any incident of violence brings shame to the nation. I will once again urge the state governments to punish those who indulge in violence,” Prime Minister Modi said. He, however, remained quiet on whether the government plans to bring a new legislation to curtail incidents of mob violence, as suggested by the Supreme Court.
NPA web a Congress legacy, claims Narendra Modi
“I want to tell you about the NPA problem. Much before Internet Banking, Congress Party invented phone banking and this caused the NPA mess. A phone call was sufficient to secure loans for their cronies and the nation suffered. To repay old new loans, new ones were issued. The web of NPAs was spread during this time,” Modi said.
He claimed that had the BJP not won in 2014, Congress would have somehow continued to run the government the way it was running it till then and ndia would have been in deep trouble.
Congress leader Sanjay Jha says Modi didn’t answer any questions raised in debate
‘Never saw a speech so disconnected with reality:’ Sitaram Yechury
CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury tweets: “Bizarre! For the first time in the history of no-confidence motions has the PM’s reply been so disconnected with reality. What he is saying has nothing to do with issues raised by the Opposition and his own allies.”
Govt committed to ensure development of Andhra Pradesh
“I want to tell the people of Andhra Pradesh that we will keep working for them. We will do everything possible for the development of Andhra Pradesh,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury attacks PM from outside Parliament, rebuts claims on development
Taking to Twitter, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said that Modi should tell the nation why the government is ‘hiding’ data on farmer suicides. “If Modi has any desire to answer
serious concerns, he should reveal why his govt is suppressing data on farmer suicides? Or lynchings in the past four years,” Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses development offensive to block Opposition’s attack
Modi said the previous government also could have done all these developmental work but they didn’t do anything. Modi reminded the House that how farmers suffered in the past due to non-availability of Urea — an important fertiliser. It’s a well known fact how farmers in the past had to buy Urea from black market. The present NDA government introduced ‘Neem coated Urea’ (coating Urea with Neem seed oil), so that the fertiliser could only be used for agriculture.
“The government gives subsidy on Urea to be used for agriculture only. But instead of using Urea in agriculture, it was sold for other purposes. As a result, a farmer had to use only Single Super Phosphate (SSP), because buying Urea on black wasn’t possible for a poor farmer. On the pretext of agriculture, subsidy was pocketed and the ultimate sufferers were farmers. This initiative was an important step introduced by the Modi government to stop the illegal diverting of highly subsidised Urea for industrial purpose,” Modi said.
TDP made U**-turn** on special status, had accepted special package
“I remember a statement made by a TDP MP who had said that the special package is better than special status. State chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had also thanked the finance minister. But they did a U-turn,” Modi said.
He said that the TDP got stuck in the game plan laid by YRS Congress and they used the Parliament to settle regional political scores. “As the elections drew nearer. The praise changed into criticism,” Modi said.
States formed by BJP doing well, Congress forcefully divided Andhra Pradesh
“Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji created 3 states: Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. It was done peacefully. These states are prospering. The Congress divided Andhra Pradesh behind shut doors and their conduct then was shameful,” Modi said.
Congress party cut-off from ground reality, says Modi
“The Congress party has lost its touch from ground reality. They are cut off from their voter base. This is the reason they are being wiped off from state after state,” Modi said.
Modi’s come back to Rahul Gandhi’s wink
Modi mocks Sonia Gandhi’s statement on Opposition having numbers to pass motion
" I had read a statement in the morning. ‘Who says we don’t have the numbers.’ Look at the arrogance. When in 1999 someone stood outside Rashtrapati Bhavan and said we have 272 and more joining, then we saw what happened. Atal ji’s govt was destabalised and they never formed the government," Modi said.
Naamdaar vs Kaamdar: Modi hits back at Rahul for saying PM can’t look me in the eye
“A member said that I can’t look them in the eye. He is right. He is a big naamdaar, while I am a backward caste man from a poor household. I am a simple kaamdaar. How can I dare to look them in the eye?,” Modi said.
He said that whenever anyone tried to look them in the eye they have paid a price, be it Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar, HD Deve Gowda, IK Gujral.
Modi hits back at RahulGandhi’s jumla strike remark
“You called the surgical strike a Jumla Strike. You can abuse me as much as you want but stop insulting the jawans of India. I will not tolerate this insult to our forces,” Modi said.
France forced to issue statement due to childish allegations, Modi hits back on Rahul’s Rafale deal charge
“Just because of one careless allegation in the House on Rafale deal, both the nations had to release statements. We should not indulge in such childish behaviour. For how long will these people continue being immature. And this is the case when they have enjoyed power for so long,” Modi said.
Congress has no faith in judiciary, govt, EC because they lack faith in self
The Congress party has no faith in the Election Commission of India, they lack trust in the judiciary, the CJI and the RBI. They don’t believe in the international agencies. They have confidence in nothing. The entire nation has faith, but they don’t trust. This is because they ;ack self-confidence," Modi said.
Fight against black money is going to continue under our govt, says Modi
“The fight against Black Money is going to continue. I know I have made many enemies due to this but it is fine,” Modi said. He said that the government has brought the benami property bill that was stuck for several years. “Why was it stuck, who were they trying to save,” Modi said.
Modi lists out his government’s achievements
“We have the honour of working towards electrification of 18,000 villages that were in the dark for 70 years.Most of these villages were situated in Eastern India and the Northeast. But no one thought about them because they didn’t fit into the math of vote bank politics,” Modi said.
He also claimed that his government gave soil health cards to 15 crore farmers. “Our Government has opened bank accounts for the poor. Earlier, the doors of the banks never opened for the poor. Women are leading a smoke-free life due to Ujjwala Yojana,” Modi said.
No-confidence motion a test for Opposition unity, not government**, says Modi**
“This is not a floor test for the government, it is a floor test for the Congress and its so-called friends and allies. No-confidence motion is a ruse to keep their flock together. The only aim is to remove a single person. At least trust your allies and friends just as much you distrust the government,” Modi said.
All they want is to remove Modi, says PM
“In the morning, the voting was not over, the debate was also not over one member comes running to me saying- Utho Utho Utho..What is his hurry to come to power? Let me tell this member it is the people who elected us. That is how we have come here. To remove one Modi, see who all they are trying to bring together,” Modi said.