Quit game by Seemandhra MPs to stall trust vote in Lok Sabha

Hyderabad: The cat and mouse game played by Seemandhra MPs and Congress floor managers in the Lok Sabha is stalling the No-Confidence Motion against the Manmohan Singh ministry that the former are waiting to move.

Whenever Seemandhra MPs appear to be getting the support of 50 members required to admit the motion, the ruling Congress floor managers create disturbances which results in the House being adjourned.

Similarly, when the support base of the dissidents falls below 50, their MPs refuse to leave the podium and again force adjournment of the House. This cat and mouse game was going on from Day 1 of the present session of the Lok Sabha.

Next: Numbers for NCM fluctuate in LS

Numbers for NCM fluctuate in LS

Hyderabad: It was much the same on Tuesday. The dissident group has less than 50 MPs due to the change in the stand of the Samajawadi Party, which has 21 members.

When the dissidents noticed their strength had dwindled, and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar insisted that members resume their seats so that she could take up the notice of theNCM, MPs from the dissident camp continued their protests in the well of the House, forcing her to adjourn the House for the day.

According to one of the dissident Congress MPs Sabbam Hari, they will change their strategy from Wednesday onwards and only one member will give notice and others will remain in their seats.
“We will show our strength whenever it is tested. We don’t want to take risk by appending signatures of all because if it is voted down we cannot move the motion again in the same session,” he said.

But whatever their strategy, with only three more days remaining for the present session to conclude, the same drama is set to continue. Till Tuesday morning, the dissident camp claimed that they had the support of more than 50 MPs. But when the SP backed out, their strength dropped to 49. By Tuesday evening the AIADMK, which has nine MPs, had decided to support the notice, pushing the number up to 58.

The break-up: Seemandhra 13, Shiv Sena 11, Akali Dal 4, Biju Janata Dal 14, Forward Bloc 2, AIADMK 9, Yeddyurappa 3, BSR party 2. Total: 58.