No-confidence motion against BJP govt LIVE: Modi wants constructive debate

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will see the first no-trust motion faced by the Modi govt in its 4-year rule. PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi will speak in Friday's debate. Catch all the live updates here

Latest News The Lok Sabha is taking up a no-confidence motion against the government for debate and voting on Friday, two days after the start of the monsoon session. Top guns of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will take part in the debate, which will conclude with a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to speak during the day. Seven hours have been set aside for the debate, which will begin at 11 am and continue without any lunch break. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has allocated 3.5 hours to the BJP, 38 minutes to the Congress and 13 minutes to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). These figures, calculated based on the strength of a party in the House, were provided by officials to news agencies on Thursday. The Modi government is expected to have a smooth sailing. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) appears confident about its numbers, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar saying that it will be "NDA plus"

at the end of voting. On the other hand, the Congress has said that it will use the occasion to "expose" the government's "failure". In the 545-member (including the Speaker) Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA can bank on around 311 members, including the 273 of the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD's) 4, Shiv Sena's 18, Lok Janshakti Party's (LJP's) 6, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party's (RLSP's) 3, Janata Dal (United)'s (JD-U's) 2, Apna Dal's 2, All India N R Congress' 1, Sikkim Democratic Front's (SDF's) 1, and Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's (NDPP's) 1. Though the numbers are heavily stacked against the Opposition, the Congress and other parties have indicated that they are keen on utilising the debate to attack the government on a range of issues, including farm distress, slow economic growth and rising incidents of lynching. The motion will be the first to be faced by the Modi government, which is left with less than a year in office. Speaker Mahajan on Wednesday accepted the no-confidence motion moved by the

Opposition against the government. CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES