TDP, YSR Congress gear up for showdown on no-confidence motion

NEW DELHI: After opposition parties once again stalled proceedings in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the TDP and YSR Congress have preemptively directed its MPs to be present in Parliament to ensure that the no-confidence motion against the Union government gets tabled today.

TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu told party legislators to show up at full strength and be ready to counter allies of the ruling BJP should they attempt to create a logjam.

"We should not dilute our fight. Public interests are our priority. No compromise in the matter of our rights. There is a possibility that they let some other parties create din and adjourn the House sine die," Naidu told TDP MPs over teleconference, as reported by ANI.

He also urged the MPs to capitalise on the support voiced by other parties by convincing them to move no-trust notices of their own.

"The support we're getting from other parties indicate the sympathy from all corners of the country for the state, for the injustice it is facing. The MPs should continue with the same spirit. You have support of 5 crore people of the state," Naidu said.

YSR Congress has issued a whip to its members, stating that all should be present and fulfill the required number of members for the no-confidence motion. In the missive, party leader Y V Subba Reddy has asked MPs to stand up and vote in favour of the motion when it is taken up in the Lower House.

Furthermore, lawmakers from both regional parties gave a miss to a luncheon hosted today by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan after she adjourned House proceedings without taking up the motion. Noisy protests by members from various parties had prompted Mahajan to pronounce the adjournment.

"We boycotted the lunch as our notice of no-confidence motion is not being admitted. The Speaker adjourned the House which should not have happened," said YSR Congress leader Vijay Sai Reddy.

Arch-rivals TDP and YSR Congress had moved no-confidence motions against the Modi government after it refused to grant special category status (SCS) to Andhra Pradesh. Both parties have been demanding special package for the state, an issue on which the TDP quit the ruling NDA alliance last week.

Several opposition parties including the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, the AIMIM and Rashtriya Janata Dal have expressed their support for the notices. A no-confidence motion notice must be supported by at least 50 MPs to be taken up in the House.

Still, the BJP will remain unaffected as it has a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha on its own. The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 539 (excluding the Speaker) and the ruling BJP has 275 members, more than the majority mark of 271, and enjoys the support of several allies.

But due to a cycle of disruptions and adjournments, the last phase of the Budget session has been a complete washout. No substantive business could be transacted in the last 11 days except for the passage of the Finance Bill, 2018 and relevant appropriation bills in the Lok Sabha.