No-trust against Modi on Aug 8

New Delhi: Parliament will take up the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved by the Opposition over the ongoing ethnic-clashes in Manipur next week. Officials said the discussion will be held in the Lok Sabha on August 8 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will give his reply to the debate on August 10. The violence in Manipur has been a key reason for the continuous logjam in both the Houses of Parliament since the monsoon session began on July 20.

The Union government had said that Home Minister Amit Shah will reply to the debate on the Manipur situation, but the Opposition parties had been demanding detailed response from the Prime Minister on the crucial matter.

The no-confidence motion, filed by Congress's Gaurav Gogoi, needed the backing of 50 members in the House - a number they easily achieved with the support of other Congress lawmakers as well as those who are part of the 'INDIA' coalition.

MPs belonging to the Opposition alliance INDIA, including Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, DMK's TR Baalu and NCP leader Supriya Sule, stood up for the head count when the Lok Sabha Speaker presented the motion.

In the 543-member Lok Sabha, the ruling NDA currently has a strength of 331. The Opposition INDIA alliance has 144 members in the House.

The Opposition, low on numbers, is not expecting to get the motion passed. Its only aim, sources said, is to get the Prime Minister to speak on Manipur -- a demand that the government has so far brushed off.

The monsoon session started a day after a video of two tribal women being marched naked and allegedly gangraped went viral, which gave a sharper edge to the opposition attack.