As discussion on the No-Confidence Motion against the Narendra Modi government is underway, the Prime Minister is addressing the Lok Sabha in his first speech of the Monsoon Session. "The trust of the people of the country shown in our government again and again - I am here to show my gratitude to the crores of the people of the country," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing a no-confidence motion for the second time in its nine years in response to the Opposition's no-confidence motion against the NDA government. The Lok Sabha initiated the no-confidence debate on Tuesday. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who returned to the Parliament after almost 4 months, participated in the discussion on Wednesday. The Parliament has been witnessing a logjam over a number of issues, including the violence in Manipur, since the beginning of the Monsoon Session on July 20.
During the debate, the Congress leader referred to his visit to Manipur and his meetings with victims of violence in the state and said ‘Bharat’ is the voice of the people of the country and that “voice was killed in Manipur." At least 120 people have been killed since May in armed clashes in Manipur, a remote state in northeast India with a history of ethnic conflict. The dispute stems from animosity between Manipur's Meitei majority and the Kuki, one of several tribal groups in the state that make up about 16 percent of its population. The Meitei are predominantly Hindu and largely live in urban centres, while the mainly Christian Kuki usually live in scattered settlements in the state's hills. Things came to a head in May over plans to recognise the Meitei as a "Scheduled Tribe" -- a status already conferred upon the Kuki. This would grant them a form of affirmative action through guaranteed quotas of government jobs and college admissions. Kuki groups staged protests over fears the plans could reduce their own entitlements, with rallies quickly spiralling into violence. Protesters set fire to vehicles and buildings, and Meitei mobs armed with guns and petrol cans then attacked Kuki settlements in the hills