Parliament LIVE UPDATES: Members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) protest outside Parliament during the ongoing budget session. The party is demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh (Express Photo/Anil Sharma/File)
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day, as members disrupted proceedings for the tenth consecutive day by raising various issues, including the Punjab National Bank scam and special status for Andhra Pradesh. Following its decision to withdraw support from the BJP-led NDA this morning, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was to move a no-confidence motion in the House. However, it was not taken up. The House will now resume on Monday. The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, has been adjourned till 2.30 pm.
TDP’s decision to move a no-trust motion against the government comes a week after two of its ministers — P Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary — resigned from the Union Cabinet over the Centre’s refusal to grant Andhra Pradesh special status. The decision was taken by TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at an emergency meeting with politburo members this morning. The Indian Express on Thursday first reported the party’s decision to walk out of the coalition.
The Congress, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress (TMC) and AIMIM are among parties which said they would support the TDP’s no-confidence motion.
Read | Signalling support to rival YSR, TDP puts its ally BJP on notice; key politburo meeting today
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor says 50 MPs supported the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha today. However, he adds, it was not considered as the Speaker said the House was not in order. "When a no-confidence motion is moved, 50 MPs should stand in its support and 50 MPs stood. But Speaker said it cannot be considered as House is not in order. So, I want to ask what does the government fear? They have huge majority in Lok Sabha," he says, reports ANI.
After the no-confidence vote failed to be taken up in the House today, TDP MP Thota Naramsimham has requested Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to take it up on Monday, 19th March. Here's his letter to the Speaker.
The Lok Sabha has resumed briefly, but following protests by members has been adjourned for the day. The House will resume only on Monday now. The no-confidence motion was not taken up during the session.
Sarfaraz Alam, newly elected Araria MP, outside Parliament today. The RJD leader took oath in the House today, along with Samajwadi Party members Nagendra Pratap Singh Patel (who won from Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh) and Praveen Kumar Nishad (Gorakhpur, UP) in the recent bye-elections.
(Express Photo/Praveen Jain)
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, president of the YSR Congress, says TDP has followed his party's lead in moving a no-confidence motion against the government. Taking to Twitter, he says, "After 4 years of relentless struggle and fight by YSRCP with people’s support for Special Category Status; finally the nation, including @ncbn’s TDP wakes up!
In case you're just joining us, here's a quick update: the Lok Sabha was adjourned today for the 10th consecutive day, as members trooped into the Well, protesting various issues, including the Punjab National Bank scam and special status for Andhra Pradesh. The House was adjourned till noon. The Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, has been adjourned till 2.30 pm. The TDP is expected to move a no-confidence motion against the government in the Lok Sabha when the session resumes.
Jaydev Galla, TDP MP, tells ANI, "BJP has started to play its dirty games. What they did in Tamil Nadu, how they tried to encourage smaller parties and create a rift within larger parties, now, they are trying to bring similar strategies to AP. We have no confidence in the government."
BJP national spokesperson reacts to TDP walking out of NDA coalition. He says, "We believe TDP is finding the going tough in Andhra Pradesh. They are seeing a defeat for themselves in 2019 and want to use this as an alibi to really retrieve lost political ground. Questions are being asked in AP as to why the AP CM took four years to realise that this is not working."
Protests by TDP and AIADMK members outside Parliament this morning. TDP members are demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh while AIADMK MPs are demanding setting up of a Cauvery water management board (CMB).
(Express Photo/Praveen Jain)
The Rajya Sabha as been adjourned till 2.30 pm.
The Lok Sabha has been adjourned till noon over protests from Opposition MPs.
Here is the list of business in the House:
The Trafficking of Persons (Preventive Protection and Rehalibilitation) Bill;The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill
Bill for consideration and passing:
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill.Discussion on alleged systemic irregularities in banking sector and its impact on Indian economy
Private Members' Business.
Asaduddin Owaisi says AIMIM will support the no-confidence motion. "MIM party will support the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha today not only for failure on part of Modi govt to implement State Reorganisation Act, but failure to fulfill their promise to provide employment to youth & for injustice to Muslim Women and Minorities," he reportedly says.
"We have been supporting Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh since the beginning. We want people of the state to get justice. When no-confidence motion is moved you have to talk about government's failures, we are contacting a lot of people," Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge says, reports ANI.
CMI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury says the party supports the no-confidence motion. He tweets, "CPI(M) supports the no-confidence motion being brought against the BJP government. Its betrayal of the promise of special status for Andhra Pradesh is inexcuseable. Its all-round failure and evasion of parliamentary accountability needs to be highlighted."
"Will see what happens in Parliament, which party chooses to go which way. In a way it is election year and every state has demands and issues. It is not right for us to comment on it. It is a custom, before actual elections there is always a rehearsal in Parliament," Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is quoted as saying by ANI.
Members of the Telugu Desam Party are staging a protest outside Parliament. Cries of "we want justice" echo. They have been demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh since the commencement of the ongoing budget session in January.
TDP MP gives no-confidence notice against Narendra Modi-lef government.
The TDP officially withdrew support from the BJP-led NDA this morning. The Indian Express had first reported that Naidu accused the BJP of "collusion politics", or using Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP and actor K Pavan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party to target the TDP. He also said there was a strong anti-BJP mood, as reflected in the bypoll results a day on Wednesday. Read more here.
The Telugu Desam Party will move a no-confidence motion against the Modi government in the Lok Sabha today. The decision was taken after party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu held an emergency teleconference with members of the politburo, including party MPs and MLAs. Follow our live blog for the latest news and updates.