Rahul Gandhi will be the first speaker of the Congress at the debate preceding no-trust vote (File)
Rahul Gandhi will be the first speaker of the Congress at the debate preceding the no-confidence motion tomorrow in parliament.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, is usually the opening speaker in debates. Tomorrow's debate is likely to be opened by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), whose motion for no-confidence was accepted by the Speaker yesterday.
With the BJP-led government certain to win the no-confidence motion comfortably, both the ruling party and the opposition will seize the chance to score political points in an election year.
The ruling coalition has been allotted three and a half hours because of its numbers.
With 48 members in the Lok Sabha, the Congress has been allotted 38 minutes. It may not translate to many speakers but the party is hinging on its chief Rahul Gandhi's performance.
In the last session, Rahul Gandhi had famously commented that he was not allowed to speak and that if he could speak for 15 minutes, it would cause an earthquake.
"We are eagerly waiting for the earthquake," said a BJP leader today.
In April, during a visit to his constituency Amethi, Rahul Gandhi had pressed the point. "Modi is afraid of standing in parliament. Let me speak for 15 minutes there, in front of PM Modi. I will speak about the Rafale deal and the Nirav Modi scam. Modiji won't have legs to stand in Parliament," said the 47-year-old.
Tomorrow, the Congress president is likely to get his wish.
Many see this as the last big public stand leaders can take ahead of the elections in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram, where it is mainly a direct BJP-Congress battle, and the 2019 national polls.