Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday accepted a no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition and said that he will announce the date for it to be taken up in Parliament following a discussion with leaders of all parties. Two motions were brought by the Opposition parties – one by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and another by Bharat Rashtra Samiti Nama Nageshwara Rao.

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The motion comes at a time when the Opposition has disrupted proceedings during the Monsoon Session of Parliament demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in Manipur that has claimed over 125 lives in the ethnic clashes so far. A video of a mob parading two women naked sparked emerged online just before the session began, triggering outrage and demands for accountability from the government.

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In his customary address before the Session began, PM Modi said that the incident was a “shame for the entire nation” and assured that all perpetrators of the crime will be brought to book. The remarks, however, failed to impress the Opposition which demanded that he must issue a statement on the floor of the House. The parties have also demanded a detailed discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267, and not a short-duration discussion that the Centre is willing to participate in.

Where do the numbers stand?

As far as numbers are concerned, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has no reason to worry at all. In the 543-member Lok Sabha, the majority mark is 272. The BJP alone has 303 MPs in the Lower House and the NDA, together, has 331 members.

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The Opposition, on the other hand, has a combined strength of 144 (INDIA bloc). Others including the BRS, YSRCP and the BJD cumulatively hold 70 members. Even combined together, the numbers fall short of the required tally of 272 by a long shot.

Why is the Opposition moving a no-confidence motion?

Despite the numbers stacked against it, the Opposition has moved swiftly to move a no-confidence motion. So, why would the Opposition put its prestige at stake to push through a Motion that it knows is bound to be defeated?

The answer to this question lies in understanding how no-confidence motions work or have worked in the recent past. We get to that in a bit. For now, the Opposition is confident that the move will get an unrelenting government to finally acknowledge the Manipur issue in depth in Parliament.

It claims that the no-confidence motion will allow it to question the government and highlight its failures in controlling the Manipur situation in the House.

What is a no-confidence motion?

A no-confidence motion is essentially a tool at the hands of the Members of Parliament which has traditionally been used by the Opposition to express its lack of confidence in the government.

Also Read: LIVE Updates from Parliament

According to the Constitution, a government is eligible to remain in power only if it has the required numbers for a majority in Lok Sabha. As per Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers is collectively accountable to the Lok Sabha.

Only the Opposition can bring this motion and it can only be introduced in Lok Sabha, and not in the Rajya Sabha. As per Lok Sabha rules, a Lok Sabha MP needs to garner 50 lawmakers to introduce a no-confidence motion against the government. Subsequently, a discussion on the motion takes place.

BJP faces third no-confidence motion

The no-confidence motion accepted in the Lok Sabha today is the 28th such proposal moved in India’s parliamentary history. The BJP has faced it twice before – the first time in 2003 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister and the second time under Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. The BJP surmounted both challenges moved by Sonia Gandhi in 2003 and the Telugu Desam Party in 2018, respectively.

Interestingly, all three no-confidence motions against the BJP government have been brought a year ahead of elections. Lok Sabha elections were due in 2004 and the motion was moved in 2003. Similarly, the motion moved by the TDP in 2018 also came a year ahead of the 2019 general elections. The current no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, incidentally, also comes a year ahead of the 2024 polls.

No-confidence motions: A brief timeline

The first no-confidence motion was moved during the third Lok Sabha in 1963 when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister. The motion was moved by former Congress and Praja Socialist Party leader Acharya J B Kripalani. The motion, moved by 40 MPs was debated for 21 hours and lasted four days. Nehru successfully managed to defeat the motion.

The second no-confidence motion was brought in 1964. An Independent MP N C Chatterjee moved a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri which was eventually defeated.

Between 1964 and 1975, the Lok Sabha saw as many as 15 no-confidence motions. Among those, three were moved against ex-PM Shastri. Twelve no-confidence motions were moved against former PM Indira Gandhi. She went on to face three more between 1981 and 1982. None of these resulted in the fall of a government.

In 1979, YB Chavan moved a no-confidence motion against the government headed by Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Desai failed to muster the numbers and had to resign. This was the first no-confidence motion that led to the fall of a government.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi also faced a no-confidence motion in 1987 which he managed to defeat because of an overwhelming majority.

Jaswant Singh moved a no-confidence motion against PV Narasimha Rao during the 10th Lok Sabha. Vajpayee had again moved a no-confidence motion against Rao. Rao defeated the motion by a margin of 14 votes.

The most intriguing and closest of all no-confidence motions was in 1999 when the Vajpayee government lost the no-confidence motion by just 1 vote, resulting in the fall of his government.