Deja Vu: Opposition Forces Amendment To Motion Of Thanks On President's Address

New Delhi: In a flashback moment, and an embarrassing one for the government, the Opposition today forced an amendment to the motion of thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha. They had done the same last year.

The Opposition's amendment against a minimum education qualification being fixed for candidates in local and panchayat elections was adopted 94-61, driving home the government's lack of numbers in the upper house, where it is in a minority.

The government's motion of thanks on President Pranab Mukherjee's address will now be sent back to him with the amendment passed today.

The President makes an address to a joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session, which is prepared by the government and lists its achievements. During the session, political parties discuss the motion of thanks also suggesting amendments.

In his reply to the discussion, shortly before the House voted on the amendment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the opposition for the smooth running of the House during the debate and also said, "300 amendments have come... I request that we have faith in the wisdom of the President and keeping in mind his stature, withdraw the amendments and pass the motion of thanks unanimously."

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This year's amendment was powered by the Congress, which worked to ensure the support of other opposition parties. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had raised the issue of educational qualifications in a speech on International Women's Day in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

She argued that the new rule disqualifies many poor rural women who have not had the benefit of education, from contesting elections, a basic right.

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Last year, the Opposition had forced an amendment saying the President's address did not mention any action taken against corruption or black money.

This is the fifth time that a government's motion of thanks has been amended; it has happened before in 1980, 1989 and 2001, and always in the Rajya Sabha.