Live updates, final day of no-confidence debate: All set for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply in Lok Sabha today

 While all eyes will naturally be on the PM, who is expected to take the floor after 4pm, among the others scheduled to speak are Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP), Shashi Tharoor and Adhir Chowdhury (Congress), Mohua Mitra (Trinamul)

TT, 10.08.23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address Parliament on Thursday, marking the finale of the three-day debate on the no-confidence against his government that has seen acrimonious exchanges between the Opposition INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the floor of the Lok Sabha.

While all eyes will naturally be on the Prime Minister, who is expected to take the floor after 4pm, among the others scheduled to speak are Nirmala Sitharaman for the BJP, Shashi Tharoor and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the Congress and also Mohua Mitra for the Trinamul Congress.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has confirmed that the Prime Minister will be present in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to reply to the no-confidence motion. The Opposition had been demanding the Prime Minister speak on the Manipur issue in the Parliament.

Addressing the House on Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned why the Prime Minister had not visited Manipur yet. "The Prime Minister has not gone to Manipur because he doesn't consider it a part of India. You (BJP) have divided Manipur," he said amid loud protests from the treasury benches.

As the BJP members, including ministers, created an uproar, recalling the “atrocities” in the Northeast during Congress rule, Rahul hit back: “Aapke Pradhan Mantri Manipur nahin ja sakte. Aapne Bharat Mata ki hatya Manipur mein ki. Aapne Manipiur ke logo ko maar kar Bharat ki hatya ki hai. Meri ek Ma yahan baithi hai. Dusri Ma ko inhone Manipur mein mara hai (Your Prime Minister cannot go to Manipur. You have killed Bharat Mata in Manipur. By killing the people of Manipur, you have killed Bharat. My one mother is sitting here. My other mother was killed in Manipur).”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a marathon two-hour speech, came out swinging with a strong defence of the BJP government’s actions in Manipur and gave a detailed account of how the crisis had built up and what the government had done to bring the situation under control.

Shah also turned his guns on the opposition and the no-confidence motion, saying: “The violence in Manipur is shameful. But what is more shameful is doing politics over it.”

The Home Minister began his speech by outlining in minute detail the government’s overall achievements in the last nine years before finally turning to the northeast and Manipur one hour and 14 minutes after he had begun speaking.

Shah pointed to the fact that the government has been working hard to stifle the violence in Manipur and that it had taken action almost immediately after the video of the naked women being assaulted by a mob had become public. He also insisted it was highly suspicious that the video which had been made in May had become public only one day before parliament’s monsoon session was scheduled to begin.

Listing the government’s actions, Shah pointed to the fact that 36,000 army personnel had been positioned in different parts of the state and that he had spent three days there. In addition, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai had been stationed in Manipur for over 20 days.

Shah insisted that the government had acted firmly to quell the violence and that 14,898 people from all tribes had been arrested for creating trouble since May 3. Also, he insisted that the falling death toll indicated that the violence had not stopped but it had come down sharply. According to Home Ministry figures, in May 107 people died in clashes with rival tribes or the police. Shah said this fell to 30 in June and 15 in July. Shah added that out of the 107 people killed in May, 68 died in the first three days after the clashes began. Said Shah: ”What I want to say here is that violence is reducing gradually and we should not add oil to the fire.”