No-Trust Debate in parliament: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the debate on Thursday.
Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP during the no-confidence debate today and said the party had killed Bharat Mata in Manipur. He was countered by Union Minister Smriti Irani, who said India believes in merit, and not dynasty.
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"I went to Manipur a few days ago. Our Prime Minister didn't go yet, because, for him, Manipur is not part of India. I am saying Manipur, but the truth today is that there is no Manipur. You have divided Manipur, broken it up. I spoke to women and children in relief camps, which our Prime Minister hasn't done to date," Rahul Gandhi said.
"Like I said at the beginning of my speech, Bharat is the voice of the people, the voice of their hearts. You have killed that voice in Manipur. That means you have killed Bharat Mata in Manipur. You are anti-national, you are not patriots. You are not the protectors of Bharat Mata, you are her killers," he added.
Hitting out at the Congress, Union Minister Smriti Irani said, "You define corruption in India, you define incompetence in India. You are not India, for India is not corrupt. India believes in merit, and not dynasty. Today, of all days, people like you should remember what was told to the British: Quit India. Corruption quit India, dynasty quit India. Merit now finds place in India."
"For the first time in the history of the country, there was talk of the murder of Bharat Mata and the Congress clapped in this House. They have sent a clear message to the country about who the traitors are. As an Indian, I am saying Manipur is not divided. It is a part of my country," Ms Irani added.
Other Union Ministers - Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Jyotiraditya Scindia are expected to speak in Lok Sabha today. Kiren Rijiju, who participated in the debate yesterday, said the Opposition will regret bringing the No-Confidence Motion because it comes at the "wrong time and the wrong manner", given India's current stature in the world.
The Prime Minister will reply to the debate on Thursday. He chaired the BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting yesterday ahead of the big vote. Taking a swipe at the INDIA coalition, the Prime Minister reportedly said that this is not a vote to express distrust in the government, but to see who can trust whom in the opposition. "It's a test of their own internal trust," he reportedly said.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi had said yesterday that INDIA was forced to bring the No-Confidence Motion against the government to break Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vow of silence" on Manipur. He alleged that a government which talks about "one India" has created "two Manipurs - one living in the hills and the other in the valley".
Home Minister Amit Shah, during a discussion on the Delhi Services bill on Monday, had accused the Opposition of running away from a debate on Manipur. "The question is the Manipur situation and what steps the government is taking there, not a show of strength by voting. If you want voting, I dare you to make this bill fall through voting," Mr Shah had said.
The session, which started on July 20, has been continually disrupted over the Manipur violence issue. The opposition contends that in view of the 170-plus deaths, injuries and displacements of thousands of people since the ethnic violence broke out in May, there is nothing more urgent that can demand the Prime Minister's attention.
The Lok Sabha currently has 539 members who will vote in the motion, of which the majority mark will be 270. The BJP alone has 301, while its allies have had 31 more votes. The opposition INDIA alliance has 143 while other parties, including KCR's BRS, YS Jagan Reddy's YSRCP, and Naveen Patnaik's BJD, have a combined strength of 70. YSRCP (22) and BJD (12) are also expected to back the government.
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