Opposition reacts to no-confidence vote: TDP calls it moral victory, Congress says journey more important than destination

The no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government resulted in an acrimonious debate in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with political parties hurling allegations at each other. The marathon 12-hour debate ended with the BJP-led alliance emerging victorious — 325 members of the Lok Sabha opposed the no-trust motion moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), while 126 supported it. The no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was, therefore, decisively defeated. [caption id=“attachment_4790571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress leaders listen to a debate on ’no-confidence motion’ in the Lok Sabha. PTI[/caption] Telugu Desam Party Commenting on the result of the vote, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was quoted as saying by ANI: “After 15 years, this is the first time a no-confidence motion was moved by Opposition parties. We knew they have a majority, but the motion was majority vs morality.” Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat in Delhi, Naidu rued that the prime minister did not promise justice to Andhra Pradesh, which had suffered heavily because of the state’s bifurcation in 2014. “Five crore people of Andhra Pradesh hoped there will be repentance (on part of the central government), and that it will correct its mistakes. But all hopes were dashed,” the chief minister said. Noting that the TDP moved the no-confidence motion only as the “last resort”, he asserted that the state government’s “fight” with the Centre would continue. During his speech in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Modi had assured the people of Andhra Pradesh that they will not be left behind, and that the government will ensure their welfare and development. TDP MP K Srinivas also dubbed the defeat of the Opposition a “moral victory”. He was quoted as saying by ANI: “It is not about majority, it is about morality. Morality won today. We wanted to showcase the failures of the prime minister and his government. You take unemployment, farmers’ distress, the economic slowdown and other issues. He has failed in every aspect and lost the trust of people of the country.” Congress A day after creating a splash in the Lok Sabha by hugging the prime minister, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said  the only way to build a nation was by harnessing people’s love and compassion. He tweeted:

The point of yesterday’s debate in Parliament..

PM uses Hate, Fear and Anger in the hearts of some of our people to build his narrative.

We are going to prove that Love and Compassion in the hearts of all Indians, is the only way to build a nation.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 21, 2018

Rahul had also called Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha "weak" , while former party chief Sonia Gandhi dubbed it as an “old rhetoric”. Meanwhile, party leader Shashi Tharoor told ANI: “The basic message is that the journey is more important than the destination. The failures of the BJP government were put before the nation. The outcome was predictable, but the process was successful.” Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia told The Indian Express, just minutes after voting on the motion concluded, that “the no-confidence motion is not just about the votes that you get in the House”. “It is the place where you win hearts by raising the issues of the people. I think the government was left completely stumped by Rahul’s very frontal attack, and it was left answer-less,” he Scindia. Shiv Sena Drawing a parallel between the FIFA World Cup final and the no-confidence motion, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said Modi might have emerged victorious like France, but Congress chief Rahul won many hearts like runner-up Croatia. “In the football World Cup final, France won (the title), but Croatia is remembered for the way they played,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said. “Rahul is now being talked about the same way. When one plays such politics, he moves four-five steps ahead.” On Rahul’s hug to Modi, Raut said such gestures were meant to attract attention. If Rahul did so to give a jolt to the prime minister, he succeeded, the Shiv Sena leader added. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The DMK called the AIADMK "spineless"  for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Modi government, also alleging that the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre as a “quid pro quo” despite several issues. DMK working president MK Stalin said the AIADMK’s opposition to the motion showed there was a “tacit alliance” between the party and the BJP. Stalin, whose party has no representation in the Lower House of Parliament, had urged the AIADMK, which has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, to support the no-trust motion. In a statement on Saturday, he said that the Modi-led government had “totally ignored” Tamil Nadu on issues including NEET , devolution of taxes in the GST era and by proposing to replace the University Grants Commission and trying to enact a legislation on dam safety. “The BJP government is going against democracy, social justice and regional autonomy and the chief minister (Edappadi Palaniswami) and AIADMK MPs were spineless in not opposing these,” he said. With inputs from PTI