Will they, won’t they? Sena does a flip-flop on trust vote
MUMBAI: In a series of flip-flops, the Shiv Sena remained undecided on Thursday about its plan for Friday’s no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi-government.
Earlier, the Sena had issued a whip asking its lawmakers to support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. By Thursday evening, the party withdrew the whip saying it will decide its course of action by Friday morning.
The no-confidence motion was moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) —a former constituent in the NDA— against the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led NDA government at the Centre.
On Thursday, BJP national president Amit Shah spoke to Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on phone to rally support for the trust vote in the Parliament. Although the Sena shares an uneasy relationship with ally BJP, it is unlikely to support the Opposition parties in the trust vote.
Sena leader and Member of Parliament (MP), Chandrakant Khaire said, “We had issued the whip, but it was later withdrawn. We will arrive at a decision by Friday morning.” The whip issued by Sena directed its Lok Sabha MPS to remain present on Friday and ‘support the government’s stand’.
The three-line whip issued by Khaire, who is the chief whip of the party, stated, “All the Shiv Sena members in Lok Sabha are informed that some very important Legislative business will be discussed in the House on July 19 (Thursday) and July 20 (Friday). All the members are requested to be present and support the Government’s stand.”
Another senior leader said that the party is not likely to support the Opposition in the motion. “We don’t need anybody’s help to take them (BJP) on; we are capable to fight our own battles,” the senior leader said, requesting anonymity. He said that Thackeray has not conveyed his decision to them, and added that the party could ‘either abstain or vote in favour’. Last month Shah met Thackeray in an attempt to mend ties between the two saffron parties. The meeting was also aimed at mollifying Sena for an alliance for the upcoming general elections and Maharashtra Assembly polls in 2019.