The Congress on July 19 said the no-confidence motion on July 20 would be more than a show of numbers and it (the party) would use the occasion to “expose” the government’s “failure”.
Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said at a press conference that his party had the support of other Opposition parties on the no-confidence motion, which had been brought to highlight the various issues concerning people and ensure that the truth reached them.
“This is the launch of a campaign that will send them packing in 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” he said. “It is to show the mirror to the government,” he said, when asked as to what did the Congress want to achieve through the no-confidence motion when the numbers were in favour of the government.
Parliament was the place where issues are discussed and debated and “that is where you expose this government,” he noted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government “believe in propaganda” and were unaware of the problems confronting the country and its people. “The Prime Minister is at best a demagogue and believes in hypocrisy,” he alleged.
Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad arrive for an all-party meeting on the eve of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 17, 2018.
“The larger issue is that the country is in agony and the people are suffering. The image of the country has been tarnished internationally,” he said. The Congress and other Opposition parties would demand accountability from the Prime Minister and his government.
Mr. Sharma said the Congress as well as other Opposition parties had made it clear to the government that they wanted Parliament to function so that they could demand answerability and accountability of the government on various issues.
“People in the country are living in fear and the rule of law was not being enforced as people were being killed and beaten up for airing their views. They were also being targeted for choice of food and clothing and the atmosphere was vitiated. The government has betrayed the people of the country and is deceiving the people on issues of governance,” he said.
