Why no-trust vote matters

Since the beginning of the Monsoon Session, opposition parties have been demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament on the violent situation in Manipur. After several days of protests and washouts, the opposition gave two separate notices to move motions of no-confidence against the government on Wednesday, hoping to force the Prime Minister to reply to the debate.

The Constitution specifies that the Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers. Therefore, the PM responds to the debate whenever MPs discuss a no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha. The opposition parties’ move requires the PM to reply to the charges they bring during the discussion.

Parliament records show that during the term of the current Lok Sabha, which started in 2019, Prime Minister Modi has participated in seven debates.

Five of these interventions came when he replied to the yearly debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. The other two occasions were (i) for informing the House about the setting up of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in February 2020, and (ii) his speech felicitating the newly elected Speaker, Om Birla, in 2019.

The opposition has also criticised the fact that the PM chose to speak on Manipur outside Parliament rather than in the House. In the past, PMs and ministers have made policy and other announcements outside Parliament when a session was underway. Successive Speakers of Lok Sabha have ruled that making such announcements does not involve any breach of parliamentary privilege.

In India’s cabinet form of government, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha. The rules of Lok Sabha provide the mechanism of a no-confidence motion to test whether the Council of Ministers continues to enjoy the confidence of the House.

What is the purpose of a no-confidence motion against the government?

In India’s cabinet form of government, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha. The rules of Lok Sabha provide the mechanism of a no-confidence motion to test whether the Council of Ministers continues to enjoy the confidence of the House.

Twenty-seven no-confidence motions have been moved so far (See list). None of these motions, including the one against the first Modi government in 2018, has been successful. The present government has a large majority in Lok Sabha, and the current motion of no-confidence is likely to be negatived as well.

In 1979, Prime Minister Morarji Desai realised that he did not have the support of the majority of MPs, and therefore resigned before the House voted on the motion.

Given the history of failure, why do oppositions still bring these motions?

Opposition parties have continued to press the no-confidence motion essentially to hold the government accountable.

In 1963, J B Kripalani moved the first no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha even though the government of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had a comfortable majority.

Acharya Kripalani started his speech by stating, “It is a matter of deep regret for me to move this motion against a Government which is being conducted with many of my old friends, almost of 30 years’ standing, but the call of duty and the call of conscience are paramount, and there can be no question of any sentiment here.”

In his reply, Nehru observed that it is good for governments to be tested from time to time, even when there is no possibility of their being defeated.

“A no-confidence motion aims at or should aim at removing the party in government and taking its place. It is clear in the present instance that there was no such expectation or hope. And so the debate, although it was interesting in many ways and, I think profitable too, was a little unreal. Personally, I have welcomed this motion and this debate. I have felt that it would be a good thing if we were to have periodical tests of this kind,” Nehru said.

It is this principle of holding the government responsible to Lok Sabha that led to the opposition initiating 12 no-confidence motions against Indira Gandhi when she was Prime Minister between 1966 and 1975.

The debate on a no-confidence motion is also wide-ranging. Participating MPs raise both national and state issues during this debate. For example, the 2018 no-confidence motion that the Telugu Desam Party initiated saw its MPs highlighting the issues related to Andhra Pradesh. Participating MPs from other parties also raised issues that they considered important. It was also the debate in which Rahul Gandhi famously hugged the PM after ending his speech.

When will the debate on the current no-confidence motion start?

The rules of procedure of Lok Sabha specify that after the no-confidence motion is admitted, the Speaker shall specify the date on which the debate will begin. This date should be within 10 days from the date the motion was accepted in the House.

Since 1987, there have been six no-confidence motions. On four occasions, the debate started on the same date as the motion was admitted. The longest it has taken to hold the debate has been six days — in 1992, when the government of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao faced its first no-confidence motion. The 2018 no-confidence motion was admitted on July 18, and the discussion began on July 20.

The debate can go on for many hours, over multiple days. The 2018 debate was almost 12 hours; the one in 2003, on a motion by Sonia Gandhi against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, took 21 hours over two days.

(Chakshu Roy is head of outreach at PRS Legislative Research)