India’s opposition parties are moving a no-confidence motion Wednesday against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over the deadly ethnic violence in Manipur, an attempt that won’t impact the administration’s stability but could force Modi to speak on the matter.
(Bloomberg) — India’s opposition parties are moving a no-confidence motion Wednesday against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over the deadly ethnic violence in Manipur, an attempt that won’t impact the administration’s stability but could force Modi to speak on the matter.
The no-trust vote doesn’t pose a threat to the government because of its overwhelming majority in the lower house of parliament, but the debate will offer opportunities to the opposition to corner the government on sensitive issues such as women’s safety ahead of the upcoming crucial elections.
“We are moving no-confidence motion today,” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a leader of the Congress party told reporters in New Delhi. Speaker of the lower house of parliament Om Birla will consider the notice for a no-confidence debate and vote.
The clashes have killed more than 150 people and displaced 50,000 in the relatively remote Indian state since May. A horrific video — of an incident that took place in Manipur on May 4 — of two women being paraded naked has triggered public anger, forcing Modi to make his first public comment on the violence on July 20.
Angry lawmakers continued to disrupt parliament proceedings demanding a statement from the prime minister in the lower house. The government has been maintaining that it was willing to discuss the Manipur issue in parliament.
The no-confidence vote against Modi comes at a time when Congress party is looking to build on the momentum from its rare victory in the southern state of Karnataka in May. The latest surge in prices of tomato — a key ingredient in Indian cuisine — and other vegetables are adding pressure on Modi’s fight against inflation.
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