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The Vote of Confidence

More Tamil to the purpose that the ones who have held the scales in a balanced manner, and those who haven't done so, will be decided by the people. "There will be a time when historians write about this government, and it will say, this was the first genuine coalition, they tried, they endeavoured, and what they did can never be wished away. Historians will also say they have written into the economic history of India some principles that have shaped the future course of the country...

Interesting closing quote from PC: "We will go down fighting, but after we go down, we will join hands again for the sake of this country. Political life is not about full stops, it is about commas..." Now what do you read in that?

Nitish Kumar of the Samta Party taking over from P Chidamabaram - and opening with an attack on Kesri's opportunism, first getting rid of Narasimha Rao, then Deve Gowda.

Nitish Kumar giving full rein to his folksy, sarcastic style of speech, saying that all this debate is pointless anyways given that in any event, all the decisions were taken in private conclave over the past few nights. PChidambaram interrupts to say, "I knew NItish Kumar had a sense of humour, now he is also revealed as possessing a sense of rumour."

NItish Kumar says that for the UF, it is good that the government is falling. "Now you can go to your constituencies and say that you didn't achieve anything because you weren't allowed to, that you were brought down. Otherwise, you would have had to go to the extent of admitting that after five years, you had failed to do anything. So we are actually doing the government a favour by bringing it down."

It is interesting that Nitish Kumar, and not George Fernandes, is speaking on behalf of the Samata Party. He is speaking with considerable humour, taking potshots at Ram Vilas Paswan. He has been promoting Vajpayee as the next prime minister. Unusually for an ally, this.

And now it is Uma Bharti, rising on behalf of the BJP, to oppose the motion.

Uma Bharti finds a new point to question the so called secularism of the other parties. Why, she demands, the extra police bandobust when festivals like HOli, Deepavali, Moharram and such like happen? If this was a secular country, why is it that there is no feeling that a festival can be conducted without fear of violence?

It is now the time officially alloted for the PM to begin his final speech before the vote is taken, but right now, Uma Bharati is rattling off at the rate of knots, talking of all the manipulations that have gone on behind the scenes, the horse trading between Congress and the UF, and such...

Uma Bharati now wants to know what happened to the UF promise that women would be given a quota and how this failure squares with Deve Gowda's claims of standing for social justice.

Uma Bharti does not have even a bus ticket in front of her. No notes, no nothing, and still she has been talking without a pause, without drawing breath it would seem from her speed, with no pauses, jumping from point to point, for the last ten minutes and looks good to go on for the rest ofthe day if she is allowed to.

Uma Bharti's argument, now, is that the Congress is getting defeated all over the country because of its own corruption, so there is no point in Kesri blaming Deve Gowda for not working with it in places like UP and Punjab.

Now Bharati on to attacking the Communist parties, wondering how they of all people could support an anti-poor budget like Chidambaram's.

And finally, Uma Bharati winds down, saying this government deserves to go, without further ado. P M Sayeed, now sitting in the Speaker's chair, talks of how time is running out, then calling on Rajesh Pilot to speak on behalf of the Congress.

Sorry, folks, it is Suraj Ban now in the chair, not Sayeed. Pilot, meanwhile, explaining the compulsions of the Congress in withdrawing support.

Pilot says that even earlier, when Congress was the largest party during the time of Rajiv Gandhi, it has refrained from forming the government. And now shifting to an attack on the BJP. He says, "We said then, we will say again, that come what may, we will not allow the BJP to come to power."

Pilot now asks the BJP by what right they talk of the Kashmir issue, when it has never bothered, in all these years, to ever set foot in Kashmir while Congress has been facing the bullets and putting their lives on the line.

Pilot, like the speakers before him, now concentrating his fire on the BJP.

Speculation, this - given the way the Congress has concentrated all its fire on the BJP rather than the UF, we wonder if the party is paving the way for a fresh alignment, either with the UF or constiuents thereof, in the aftermath of this exercise? A lot of the speeches have a sort of explanatory undertone to them. Sort of like saying, the BJP is a no-no for this reason, so though we voted against the Gowda government, we are forced to enter into another deal to keep the BJP out of power...

Now Pilot is talking about how, in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, Vajpayee was forced to admit on the floor of the House that the BJP was in the wrong, that it was a tragic happening. "If there is a difference between your principles and your practise, then you cannot guide the country on the right path, and that is the problem with the BJP. WE in the Congress, or in the UF, might have communication problems, but at the least, we do not confuse our stated ideals with our actions, what we say, we do. Unlike the BJP, which says one thing and does the reverse."

One thing for sure, the vote will be much, much later than planned. There are over 10 speakers to go, then the PM has to respond, and then the vote will be taken. Pilot, meanwhile, winding down, and someione from the BJP stands up to ask, at least tell us whether you are supporting or opposing the motion. PIlot says he is in opposition, and hands the floor to Kanshi Ram of the BSP.

Kanshi Ram for some reason is talking of how the BSP has brought an end to goondaism in UP - which, by any yardstick, seems to have nothing to do with the topic under debate.

Kanshi Ram now shifting gears, and attacking both the UF and the Congress as unprincipled, power hungry parties.

Kanshi Ram now detailing the discussions he had with Congress leaders during the run up to forming a government in UP... the tenor of his argument being that even there, the Congress tried to get what it wanted even though it didn't have the political numbers to back its demand. He argues that this is a characteristic of the Congress, to be self-seeking in any and all situations.

Kanshi Ram now wondering what the Congress rationale was in pulling back its support and precipitating the present political crisis. Condemning this, he expresses himself against the motion of confidence and winds down.

Guys, P A Sangma points out tht 13 people are yet to speak. That the list includes Inderjit Gupta, Banatwala, Vajpayee, and such like... and wonders how much longer this should go on. Sangma adds that there is no question of postponing this or continuing by a day, as it has to be finished today.

Sangma wants the parliamentarians to decide what to do now. One suggestion being put forward is, just cut the list down, to the leader of the Opposition and the PM. Vajpayee says he will end in 15 minutes, so Sangma draws a laugh when he asks, "What or who will you end in 15 minutes?"

And now, with time restricted to ten minutes per remaining speaker, Surjeet Singh Barnala of the Akali Dal rises to speak.

Barnala now busily detailing the ins and outs of Punjab politics - after Kanshi Ram had given us a lecture on UP politics earlier. What prompts these regional arguments when the national government is the one seeking a vote of confidence, we will probably never know, but for now, that is what you are getting.

Finally, Barnala gets to the point. "Why is this situation arising? If we and the BJP wanted to, we couldn't topple this government. So who is doing it? Precisely the same people who have always taken the lead in toppling governments that do not rule to their prescription - the Congress...

Barnala: "The Congress shouldn't have done what it did. It never thought of who would be harmed, and who would benefit. So it remains to be asked, what next? Once this vote is over, we need to get together and bring about a situation where this kind of mockery of democracy never happens again, let us put together norms that will ensure against such governments that do not last hte full tenure."

Taking over from Barnala, who duly opposed the motion, is Chitta Basu of the Forward Bloc, rising in support of the Deve Gowda government.

Meanwhile, the camera pans - to show that most members, of all parties, are not sitting in their seats. Obvious - they are all under the respective whips, they know which way they are supposed to vote, so why should they sit there listening to this futile debate anyway? Even the BJP MPs are thin on the ground, just about 20, 30 of them in their seats while the rest are presumably out in the corridors or elsewhere.

Chtta Basu talking of how his party, like the Congress, supported the UF from outside. Why, asks Basu, is the Congress alone now withdrawing from the earlier arrangement?

Basu finally says that he supports the UF, and winds down.

Adn now the DMK gets its turn, batting for the UF government. P N Shiva, a young DMK MP, speaking with restraint and asking precisely what the UF government has done to deserve being voted out, why the debate thus far has centered around the BJP and the Congress, why if those two parties are the focal point of the political storm, then why is the UF on the chopping block?

Sangma rings the bell, Shiva goes on regardless,talking of how the UF has refused to indulge in horse trading, how it didn't give up Deve Gowda to retain power, as the Congress wanted it to. And with that, Sangma rings the bell furiously, calls on C Premachandran to speak, Shiva goes on regardless - as cricket commentators are so fond of saying, it's all happening on the floor of Parliament.

Premachandran of the RSP now speaking in support of the motion.

The tenor of Premachandran's speech is this: Why did the Congress, nine months back, support the UF? And why, today, have they withdrawn that support?

For the Haryana Vikas Party, Jayaprakash takes his turn at bat, opposiing the vote of confidence.

Jayaprakash sits down, G M Banatwala of mthe Muslim League rises to support the motion.

If we don't relay each of these speeches, folks, it is because they are all on predictable lines. Those opposed attack the Congress for bringing it in the first place, those in support attack both the Congress and the BJP, and the Congress speakers tee off on the BJP without mentioning a word about the UF.

Funnily enough, Banatwala is now blasting the egoistic attitude of the UF government - toeing the Congress line.

Banatwala keeps "concluding"... and then goes on and on... typical of the man, who is known for the passion he brings to his oratory, and an equal unwillingness to relinquish the mike once he has been given it.

Saifuddin Soz now taking the floor... and detailing the history of coalition governments in India, for some reason...

At one level, there is scope for humour in what is going on. The Speaker asks Soz to finish his speech. Soz says, "I will conclude with a couplet," making us think tht he is going to end his speech but no, he continues, "but before the couplet, I must say something..." and continues his diatribe against the Congress, the BJP, the militants in Kashmir, and so on and so forth...

Ah well, there goes Soz, and up pops Dr Pravin Chandra Sharma in support of the motion of confidence.

Sharma does his number, and it is now the turn of Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi of Hyderabad's MIM...

Short and sweet from Owaisi, now it is Atal Bihari Vajpayee...

Someone goofed, Sangma announced Vajpayee, forgetting that Home Minister Inderjit Gupta was supposed to speak before him. So now it is Gupta, not Vajpayee, at the mike, in support of the motion.

First up, Gupta says, "The government is bleeding, and our blood is on your hands. I told you before, if you withdraw support, the people will give you what you deserve, and that promise of mine will be realised. I am amazed that the party that withdrew support is still to tell us, after an entire day of debating, why they have withdrawn support. This is unprecedented - and the Congress apparently feels no need to explain its stance, you cannot treat this House with such contempt." Say what you like, at least Inderjit Gupta is addressing the question of the day unlike some who spoke before.

Gupta: "Your President Mr Kesri came to see me, he spoke to me for one and a half hours, I tried my best to find out what his complaint was and he kept saying, I don't want anything else, please remove Deve Gowda and we will support you again."

"The nation is angry," says Gupta, "and this anger is going to be faced by all of us. And we deserve it, we go to them once every few months and say please vote for us, then we go to Parliament, vote more money for ourselves, then break the government, and go back to the people and ask again for their votes. No wonder they are angry, the people, and this anger is going to recoil on us."

For once, a speaker appears to be addressing the question of the day. Meanwhile, Gupta now talking about the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, he says, "Please check the records of the Lok Sabha, you will see how strongly Vajpayee denounced the demolition, said we should identify the perpetrators and bring them to book."