Hyderabad: It is doubtful if Opposition parties will support the no-confidence motion to be moved by Telugu Desam members of Parliament against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government when Parliament monsoon session begins on Wednesday. So far only the DMK has announced its support. TD MPs Thota Narasimham, Y.S. Chowdary and others said that they will stall the proceedings of the Lok Sabha if the no-confidence motion is not taken up for discussion.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Anantha Kumar said the government is ready for discussions on every issue including the no-confidence motion. In the second leg of the budget session all Opposition parties, including the main opposition party, the Congress, had supported the no-confidence motion moved by the TD and YSRC. After the resignations of the YSRC MPs were accepted, the party now has no representation in the Lok Sabha.
TD MP Kesineni Sreenivas (Nani) will give the notice for the no confidence motion against the NDA government to the Lok Sabha secretary-general on Wednesday. TD MPs are meeting several opposition party leaders to get their support after presenting letters written by AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to the party leaders listing the reasons for the motion and requesting their support. On Tuesday, TD MPs met CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury to get his support.
They met leaders of other parties too, but not of the Congress. There is speculation that the Congress and TD may have an alliance in the coming general election. The TD leadership has decided not to meet Congress leaders on no confidence motion issue. Meanwhile, the Telangana Rastra Samithi has changed its strategy in Parliament. In the previous budget session TRS MPs stalled Lok Sabha proceedings on the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Muslim reservations issue.
In fact, the no-confidence motion could not be taken up for discussion last time because the TRS and the AIADMK had created a ruckus and would not allow the House to conduct any business unless their demands were met. The entire session was a wash-out as a consequence. TRS leader in the Lok Sabha, A.P. Jitendar Reddy, said his party will not stall the proceedings of Parliament this time. He told this newspaper that in the all-parties meeting held by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anantha Kumar, he had asked that steps be taken to run the House smoothly.
He said that the TRS had many issues to discuss in Parliament such as the Bayyaram steel plant and national status for the Kaleswaram project. The central government invited MP Butta Renuka to the all-party meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as deputy leader of the YSRC. But Ms Renuka has defected to the Telugu Desam and after the meeting, YSRC MP Vijayasai Reddy said the YSRC has objected to Ms Renuka’s inclusion since after she defected and hence she cannot be called a YSRC MP. He also said that the YSRC has made several representations to the Lok Sabha speaker to disqualify Ms Renuka for defecting from the party.
