In India, a motion of no confidence, also called vote of no confidence/no trust, is a motion of no confidence initiated in the Lok Sabha or in a state legislative assembly, to determine the confidence of the House in the Council of Ministers. If the motion is passed by a majority of the members of the house, all the ministers are expected to resign on moral grounds. [1] When a similar motion is moved by a minister to prove their command of confidence, it is called motion of confidence/vote of trust. [2]
The prime minister of India is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the executive. The prime minister has to be a member of one of the houses of bicameral Parliament of India, alongside heading the respective house. The prime minister and his cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha.
A motion or vote of no confidence is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly as to whether an officer is deemed fit to continue to occupy their office. The no-confidence vote is a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the executive's mandate rests upon the continued support of the majority in the legislature. Systems differ in whether such a motion may be directed against the prime minister, against individual cabinet ministers, against the cabinet as a whole, or some combination of the above.
The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Parliament House, New Delhi.
Manmohan Singh is an Indian politician, economist, academician and bureaucrat who served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi. A member of the Indian National Congress, Singh was the first Sikh prime minister of India. He was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.
Chaudhary Ajit Singh was an Indian farmer leader and politician. He was the founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, a political party recognised in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was son of the former Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singh. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was subsequently admitted to a hospital in Gurugram. He died on 6 May 2021 after his condition deteriorated.
Selja Kumari is an Indian politician and a Member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian parliament. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and has served as the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and Tourism during Manmohan Singh's premiership.
Vilas Bhaurao Muttemwar is an Indian politician from Maharashtra belonging to the Indian National Congress who served as a member of the 7th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Karan Singh is an Indian politician and philosopher. He is the titular Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. From 1952 to 1965 he was the Sadr-i-Riyasat (President) of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He is the chairperson trustee of the Dharmarth Trust of Jammu and Kashmir which maintains 175 temples in north India and works in other areas such as historical preservation.
Velu Narayanasamy is an Indian politician who served as the 10th Chief Minister of Puducherry from 2016 to 2021. He is a member of Indian National Congress political party.
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the governing alliance in India elected in 2004, faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha on 22 July 2008 after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front withdrew support over India approaching the IAEA for the Indo-US nuclear deal. The vote was so crucial that the UPA and the opposition parties summoned MPs from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote, which was eventually won by the Government.
The India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement was met with stiff opposition by some political parties and activists in India. Although many mainstream political parties including the Indian National Congress support the deal along with regional parties like Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Rashtriya Janata Dal its realisation has run into difficulties in the face of stiff political opposition in India. Also, in November 2007, former Indian Military chiefs, bureaucrats and scientists drafted a letter to Members of Parliament expressing their support for the deal. However, opposition and criticism continued at political levels. The Samajwadi Party (SP) which was with the Left Front in opposing the deal changed its stand after discussing with ex-president of India and scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. Now the SP is in support of the government and the deal. The Indian Government survived a vote of confidence by 275-256 after the Left Front withdrew their support to the government over this dispute.
The cash-for-votes scandal was an Indian political scandal allegedly masterminded by then Bharatiya Janata Party politician Sudheendra Kulkarni in which the United Progressive Alliance, the majority-holding parliamentary-party alliance of India led by Sonia Gandhi, allegedly bribed Bhartiya Janta Party MPs in order to survive a confidence vote on 22 July 2008. The vote in the Lok Sabha arose after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front withdrew support from the government, who wanted to pursue an Indo-US nuclear deal.
The First Manmohan Singh ministry was the first Union Council of Ministers of India under the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh. It was formed after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April - 10 May 2004, to elect the 14th Lok Sabha, and it functioned from 2004 to May 2009. After the election Singh took the oath as the Prime Minister of India on 22 May 2004, and continued to hold the post till full term, the next Council of Ministers of the Republic of India was sworn in on 22 May 2009, when Singh started his second term in office as PM.
Chandra Shekhar, also known as Jananayak, was an Indian politician who was Prime Minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal with outside support from the Indian National Congress. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who had never held any prior government office.
Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is one type of ad hoc parliamentary committee constituted by the Indian parliament.
The Second Narendra Modi ministry was the Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi that was formed after the 2019 general election which was held in seven phases in 2019. The results of the election were announced on 23 May 2019 and this led to the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha. The oath ceremony was arranged in the courtyards of Rashtrapati Bhavan at Raisina Hill. The heads of the states of BIMSTEC countries were invited as guests of honor for this ceremony.
The 1972 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the sixth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. Indian National Congress emerged as the victorious party with 66 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Shiromani Akali Dal became the official opposition, holding 24 seats. On 30 April 1977, Assembly dissolved and president rule was imposed.
A special session in the Indian Parliament is a period when MPs gather to conduct legislative business outside of their usual sessions.
THE PRIME MINISTER (DR. MANMOHAN SINGH): Mr. Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I beg to move : "That this House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers."