News
International News
Indian government hangs in balance | Indian government hangs in balance |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, 22 July 2008 | |
|
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday tabled a motion in parliament to seek a trust vote in his government, as his government hung in the balance 24 hours before the members of parliament make their choice clear. On Monday, the Indian parliament debated the controversial Indo-US Nuclear Deal, as a result of which the alliance of Leftist parties has withdrawn support from Singh's government, reducing it to a minority. "I have repeatedly assured all, including the Left parties, that I myself would come to the guidance of parliament before operationalising the nuclear deal, if we were allowed to go to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to finalise the India-specific safeguards agreement)," said Singh in the Lok Sabha. But opposition leader from the right-wing Bharatiya Janata party Lala Krishna Advani said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been reduced to a "patient in an ICU". But as the government and the opposition accused each other of compromising national interest and creating a political crisis during the on the vote of confidence, it was clear that the number game is destined for a photo-finish. Amid allegations of buying MPs from all sides, UPA is now banking on the 10 MPs from the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) who may not show up. The government and the opposition were, till two days back, within striking distance of each other in the numbers game a day before the floor test. But the abstentions might just make the key difference. While the UPA needs 272 MPs for a majority in the 547 member house. According to latest projections, there were 269 MPs for the Government, 268 against it and four lawmakers are still undecided. The trust vote moved by Singh on Monday is the ninth taken in the Lok Sabha in nearly three decades since 1979. Of the eight trust votes taken in the last 29 years, the government of the day won six while in two cases the incumbent prime ministers simply resigned without facing the house. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
| Labour MPs unite to tell Brown: the hostilities are overTuesday, 07 October 2008The Guardian OnlineLabour MPs rallied behind Gordon Brown last night amid signs that his government reshuffle and the financial crisis have taken the... + Full Story |
More . . .
|