No-Confidence Motion Debate: Congress Under Fire For Withdrawing Rahul Gandhi's Name At Last Minute

During the first day of the debate on the No-Confidence Motion against the Narendra Modi government, the Congress party argued against the "precedent" set in Manipur and accused the government of causing division within the state.

Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress MP who initiated the debate, stated that the opposition bloc INDIA was compelled to bring forth the no-confidence motion in order to break Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the situation in Manipur.

He alleged that the government, which claims to support a unified India, has actually created a divide between the hills and the valley of Manipur.

Gogoi emphasised the demand for justice in Manipur, stating that as Martin Luther King Jr once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

He argued that if Manipur is suffering, the entire country is suffering, and if Manipur is divided, the country is also divided.

Gogoi criticised Prime Minister Modi for maintaining a vow of silence and refusing to speak about the situation in Manipur, in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.

Pralhad Joshi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, questioned the last-minute withdrawal of Rahul Gandhi as the lead speaker.

Congress sources had previously stated that Rahul Gandhi, who had recently returned to parliament, would open the debate. However, sources later revealed that Gandhi would not be speaking in the Lok Sabha on that day, as reported by NDTV.

During the BJP parliamentary meeting this morning (8 August), BJP MP Nishikant Dubey relayed that Prime Minister Modi had stated that the vote is not meant to express distrust in the government, but rather to determine who can be trusted in the opposition.

Taking a dig at former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, he remarked, "Sonia Gandhi now has only two jobs: 'set' the son and give presents to the son-in-law."

In response to Gaurav Gogoi's suggestion of revealing the remarks made by the Prime Minister in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's chamber, Home Minister Amit Shah sharply retorted that the member cannot make unsubstantiated claims about the Prime Minister.

According to Gogoi, there are three reasons why Prime Minister Modi remains silent — the "failure of the state government," the "failure of the home department and national security arrangement," and his "unwillingness to admit his mistakes."

He demanded that the Prime Minister make a statement about Manipur in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The government has argued that no statement was made in Parliament after major violence occurred in Manipur in 1993 and 1997, except for one case where the junior home minister provided a statement.

Gogoi pointed out that former prime minister and BJP's iconic leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Gujarat during the 2002 communal riots, suggesting that precedent should not be an issue.

Before the House, Gogoi presented his motion titled, 'This House expresses want of confidence in the council of ministers' and then proceeded to make his statement.

During the debate, five ministers namely Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Kiren Rijiju are expected to speak. Additionally, ten other BJP MPs will also participate in the discussion.

The opposition argues that given the 170-plus deaths, injuries, and displacement of thousands of people since the outbreak of ethnic violence in May, there is no other matter more urgent that requires the attention of the Prime Minister.