New Delhi: The BJP and opposition Congress sharpened their attacks on each other on Thursday, a day before the Lok Sabha takes up the no-confidence motion for debate and voting in an increasingly polarised environment with each side trying to maximise its chances of victory in the 2019 general elections.
Top guns of the two parties, including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, will take part in the debate which will conclude with a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Seven hours have been set aside for the debate which will begin at 11 am and go on without the lunch break. Officials said as per calculations based on the strength of a party in the House, the BJP will get over three hours and Congress around 45 minutes.
In a House of 534 MPs, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 313 members including 274 (with 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.
Ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), appeared confident of the numbers with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar saying that it will be ‘NDA plus’ at the end of voting.
“We have talked to several parties. We will get fresh support from the south and the northeast. It will be NDA plus,” he said.
Kumar also took a swipe at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for her remarks on Wednesday that the Opposition had the required strength.
“She is not able to do her math properly. What happened in 1999 is being repeated. The Congress had faced embarrassment,” Kumar said.
Kumar also taunted Congress for its support to TDP’s no-confidence motion. “There is a talk that Congress is following those it opposes,” he said.
While Shiv Sena has issued a whip to its members in the Lok Sabha to be present and vote in favour of the government, AIADMK indicated that it might not support the no-confidence motion. AIADMK has 37 MPs.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) member Kesineni Srinavas, whose notice was accepted by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday as it was the first to be submitted, will initiate the debate on the motion.
A TDP delegation on Thursday sought the support of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the no-trust vote.
Apart from TDP, the notice of no-confidence had also been given by members of the Congress, NCP, RSP and CPI-M and AIMIM member Asaduddin Owaisi.
BJP sources said Modi will speak for about one-and-a-half hours. Party MPs Anurag Kashyap and Hukumdev Narayan Yadav may also speak in the debate.
The Congress said the no-trust motion 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,” he added.
The no-trust motion will be the first to be faced by the Narendra Modi government, which is left with less than a year in office. (IANS)