No Confidence Motion

August 12, 2023

In a parliamentary democracy, a government can be in power only if it commands a majority in the directly elected House.
Article 75(3) of our Constitution embodies this rule by specifying that the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
A No confidence Motion is a parliamentary process that signifies that the present government is no longer deemed fit to hold positions of responsibility.
Any Lok Sabha MP, who can garner the support of 50 colleagues, can, at any point of time, introduce a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers.
- Thereafter, a discussion on the motion takes place.
- MPs who support the motion highlight the government’s shortcomings, and the Treasury Benches respond to the issues they raise.
- Finally, a vote takes place – in case the motion carries, the government is bound to vacate the office.
A no confidence motion can only be moved in the Lok Sabha.
No prior reason needs to be stated for its adoption.
It is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.
It was during the 3^rd Lok Sabha in 1963 that the first motion of no confidence was moved by Acharya J B Kripalani against the government headed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Since then, there have been 26 more no-confidence motions moved in the parliament (not counting the latest one), with the last one being in 2018, moved by the TRS against the previous Narendra Modi government.