No-confidence motion: Manipur was incidental, it was more about political posturing and polls

NEW DELHI: It was supposed to be a motion of no-confidence against the government's actions, inactions and PM's supposed silence over the violence in Manipur. But discussions about Manipur events were largely incidental and peripheral in the three-day debate in the Lok Sabha.The debates, interjections, interventions, interruptions all became means to position and promote parties' agenda for upcoming assembly polls this year and next year's general election.The opposition, which moved the motion with the stated objective to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to the House and speak on Manipur violence, did manage to achieve that.When Prime Minister Modi came to the Lok Sabha on the last day of the three-day debate, leader of the opposition Adhir Ranjan Chouwdhury was all smiles as he spoke about the power of the no-confidence motion. However, with PM Modi using the opportunity to unleash an all out offensive against the opposition, the Congress and its INDIA partners would be left wondering if their move was worth the outcome. The Prime Minister did talk on Manipur and condemned the violence in no uncertain terms. But, Manipur was a small part of his 2 hour 13 minutes speech. The bulk of his speech was directed at the opportunism of the parties that had united under the banner of INDIA He called their alliance a Ghamandia gathbandhan. The Prime Minister singled out the Congress and blamed the grand old party for all the ills plaguing the country. He accused the Congress of compromising on values and principles to stay relevant in politics. Taking dig at the Congress, the Prime Minister said that the people of this country had said "no confidence" to the grand old party several times. PM Modi also targeted Rahul Gandhi, whose Lok Sabha membership was reinstated just in time to allow him to participate in the no-trust debate. He took several digs at the former Congress chief and even called him a failed product which his party was trying to launch again and again. The Prime Minister objected to Rahul Gandhi's remarks on Bharat Mata being murdered, which the Congress leader made during his speech. Rahul Gandhi launched a broadside against the Narendra Modi government over its handling of Manipur violence and accused the PM of indifference to the violence in the state. Rahul Gandhi's strong offensive against the government and the Prime Minister was countered by all the BJP speakers during the debate. But the fiercest attack came from Smriti Irani, who had defeated Rahul in his stronghold of Amethi. Smriti came down heavily on the Congress leader. Ironically, Rahul who was supposed to open the debate for the opposition did not speak on Day 1. It was Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi who set the stage for the debate. Perhaps the fact that he was from the northeast and Manipur was at the core of no confidence motion could have been a reason for the change in sequence.Day 2 of the debate saw some important speakers from both sides. Leading this list was Union home minister Amit Shah, who was armed with data on almost anything and everything related to governance. The speech showed why he is called the master strategist for the BJP. The opposition charges on economy and development were countered by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman who spoke of how India was now the fastest growing economy. While the Congress governments only promised, Modi government delivers, she said. The opposition would hope that it has won the battle of perception on the Manipur issue by forcing the Prime Minister to speak in the House. However, the government also scored some important points as it made the most of the debate and gave details about its achievements in the last 9 years. In fact PM Modi in his speech thanked the opposition for bringing the motion. He went on to say that no-confidence motions before elections have been lucky for the BJP and now he was convinced that the opposition would bring the next no-confidence motion in his third term as PM. Whether or not this happens we will know next year in May. Who will eventually reap rich political dividends only time will tell, but one thing is sure the no-confidence debate in Lok Sabha has set the stage for the upcoming electoral battles in the states and the next Lok Sabha election.