No-confidence motion: BJP, TMC, TDP issue whips to MPs over Friday's debate in Lok Sabha

With Congress-led opposition parties moved a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government on the first day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a three-line whip to its MPs.

The whip directs all the BJP MPs to be present in Lok Sabha, where a discussion and voting on the no-confidence motion will take place from 11 am to 6 pm on Friday. The trust vote on the motion will be held after PM Modi's speech and there will be no Zero Hour or private members' bills for the day.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has also issued a whip, asking its all 34 MPs to be present for discussion and voting for the no-confidence motion in the Parliament on Friday, TMC leader Derek O' Brien confirmed later in the day.

Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee-led party requested a postpone on the debate and wanted it to take place on Monday.

"21st of July is a very important day for TMC. We observe it as a martyr’s day for 14 youth TMC workers who were killed. All 34 MPs of TMC are therefore busy," TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi said.

Read | Parliament Monsoon Session 2018 Highlights: No trust motion accepted in LS, to be discussed on Friday

However, the party failed to convince the Speaker and the government to change the date and asked all its MPs to come back to Delhi.

Telegu Desam Party (TDP), which in March snapped ties with NDA and convinced other opposition parties for the no-confidence motion against the BJP government, also issued whip asking its MPs to attend the no-confidence debate in the House on July 19 and 20.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday submitted the notice for the no-confidence motion after the Congress, and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP among other opposition parties moved the notices during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

On being asked about Centre's stand regarding the same, BJP leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar told ANI, "Accepting or not accepting the vote of no-confidence in not in the realm of the government, it is prerogative of the Speaker". Kumar, however, has confirmed that all NDA parties are going to vote unitedly against the no-confidence motion.

Earlier, Mahajan refused to accept notices for a similar motion during the previous Budget Session, which was one of the volatile sessions in the history of parliament and was washed out following the continuous uproar by different opposition parties.

Read | PM Modi reaches out to oppositions; seeks cooperation for smooth functioning of Parliament

"It's not a question of big party, small party... Those who brought the no-confidence motion, I read all the rules. The person who first brought the motion has to be called first," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, demanding the government agree to the no-confidence motion.

Wednesday's Lok Sabha proceedings, which also began on a stormy note amid sloganeering and protest also gave us a remembrance of the Budget session. It seems like Modi's all-party meeting, which sought the cooperation of all the opposition parties for a smooth functioning of the Houses, has totally gone in vain.

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