A move of no confidence forces a prime minister to speak in the House of Commons on an issue the opposition wants him to address – even for an eccentric democracy like India a first. Make fun of our politicians or our democracy. In the absurdity of the movement is the ingenuity of the politicians. And a quest for accountability in a democracy, regardless of the color of the agenda.
The proposed no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, the opposition's last resort to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak out about the crisis unfolding on Manipur's home turf, will go into effect on Tuesday. Ethnic-religious violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 after the Supreme Court consulted with the state and central governments, ordering them to make a decision about bringing the community Meitei to the Scheduled Tribes category by May 30.
By July 20, the day of the start of the monsoon session of Parliament, about 150 people had died from the violence in Manipur. Opponents asked the Prime Minister to explain the remedial route. Not outside, but in Congress.
Prime Minister Modi broke his silence that day, expressing deep shock and distress at a heartbreaking video from Manipur. He reassured the nation that those responsible for such atrocities would face the full force of the law. He added, “The video showing brutality against women in Manipur is the most shameful. I am very sad and angry about this incident and I assure the people of the country that the perpetrators will not be forgiven and receive the harshest punishment.
But it took place not on the floor, but inside the Parliament complex during his usual speech at the start of the session.
Prime Minister Modi's story between public discourse and parliamentary discourse
To the uninitiated, it may seem ironic that Prime Minister Modi, an orator known for wowing crowds around the world, is not subtly enticed to speak on an issue. through a vote of no confidence. I remember the 2014 election campaign when his pitch at rallies mocked then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as "weak" and "voiceless". Singh faced taunts from 'Maun'mohan Singh (maun is a Hindi term meaning silence).
Over the past nine years, the Prime Minister's speech can be traced all over the world. In Congress, he spoke 30 times on different occasions. The number of his speeches outside Parliament during sessions exceeded them.
Signs that Prime Minister Modi has chosen to speak directly to the public. There have been only a handful of occasions when he has stood up to speak on an issue that has plagued the regime or the opposition that has wanted him to speak. In fact, many times during his tenure, the opposition mocked him for being "confused" on important issues.
On the contrary, without being too pompous, almost unwilling to be in the limelight, Dr Manmohan Singh has spoken almost 70 times in ten years.
