Rahul Gandhi's Hug And Wink, PM Modi's 2023 'Prediction': Revisiting 2018 No-Trust Motion Debate

In 2018, the 12-hour debate saw the government and the Oppn trade charges as well as drama after Rahul Gandhi walked over to PM Modi and embraced him.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a Lok Sabha session during the 2018 No-Confidence Motion.

The Narendra Modi-led Union government faces a no-confidence motion in Parliament, which is set to be debated on Tuesday. With this move, the united Opposition bloc INDIA has compelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on the Manipur crisis in Parliament.

Parliament proceedings have been disrupted since the beginning of the Monsoon session as the Opposition bloc has remained steadfast over their demand for a statement by the Prime Minister on the floor of the House.

The no-confidence motion was brought by the Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and admitted by Lok Speaker Om Birla.

This is not the first time that the Modi government is going to face a no-confidence motion. In 2018, its former ally Telugu Desam Party moved a no-confidence motion against the Centre, accusing it of non-allocation of adequate funds to Andhra Pradesh. 

The 2018 no-confidence motion portrayed a direct faceoff between then Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with allegations and counterattacks.

2018 No-Confidence Motion — Rahul Gandhi's Hug & Wink, PM Modi's 2023 'Prediction':

•  Rahul Gandhi began his address by mocking PM Modi over what he termed as a "21st-century political weapon" of "jumla-strike" saying the TDP was only among many victims of it. "The kisans (farmers), the youngsters, the Dalits, the tribals, and the women of the country" are the other victims, he said. Aapne bola ki Pradhanmantri ke shabd ka matlab hona chahiye aur yahi Sawal pura Hindustan Aaj poochh raha hai. (The Prime Minister's word should hold some meaning and the entire country is asking this question," he added.
  
  
• The then Congress President counted the Modi government's "jumla strikes" including promises like 12 lakh Rs to be deposited to every citizen's bank account, giving employment to 2 crore youngsters, and Minimum Support Price (MSP) assurance to farmers. Attacking Modi, he said the Prime Minister only speaks to and works for 15 to 20 "suit boot waale" big businessmen and not the small shop and business owners. 
  
  
• He accused then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of speaking "untruth" to the country for not revealing the prices at which the Rafale jets were bought. "The French prime minister has personally told me that there is no secret pact between the Indian government and the French government (for revealing the rates at which Rafale jets were bought)," he remarked.
  
  He also asked why the contract was "taken away from HAL" and given to a businessman who was "35,000 crore" in debt with no prior experience in building these jets.
  
  
• "He is looking away from me. I can understand that. He cannot look into my eyes, I can see that because the Prime Minister has not been truthful," Rahul said. Hearing this, PM Modi made his eyes wide open in response.
  
  
  
  
• Cornering the Modi government on the protection of women and minorities, the Congress leader said he does not have hatred and anger towards PM Modi. In fact, he said, PM Modi and the RSS helped him understand the meaning of being Congress and a Hindu.
  
  "You may call me Pappu, but I don't have an ounce of hate for you," Rahul said, and soon after he went to PM Modi to give him the famous hug in Lok Sabha. Following his address, he was seen winking at one of the Lok Sabha members seated near him.
  
  
• The Prime Minister mocked Rahul Gandhi's wink after the hug, saying that the whole country watched the game he played with his eyes. He said the Congress leader was being "arrogant" and eager to reach his seat as the Prime Minister. "What is the hurry to get the PM's chair," Modi remarked.
  
  
• "The country is not unaware of the history of one family which stoked political instability in the country time and again for its selfish interests," he said, attacking the Congress and the Gandhi family.

• Highlighting his government's development and welfare initiatives, PM Modi said that the country is witnessing the "negative" politics being done by the Opposition, and the faces doing it have been highlighted amid the debates.

• "To remove one Modi, these parties, which could not even see and meet each other, have got together," he said as also recited verses to call the opposition a decrepit ship without a captain. He stressed that the government has the blessings of the people who have given it the mandate.

• The Prime Minister also remarked that it was not his government's floor test but a "force test" that the Congress had done to see which parties are with it, "This is not the government's floor test, it is a force test of Congress's alleged allies. This is a trial for someone's aspirations to be Prime Minister so that others give it a stamp of approval".

• Referring to Rahul Gandhi's meeting with Chinese diplomats amid the Dokhlam standoff, PM Modi said, "Congress denied that their President met the Chinese Ambassador, but as proof emerged, they to admit that the meeting happened."

• PM Modi also remarked that due to "careless" allegations on the Rafale deal, both India and France had to release statements and deny claims. He remarked that the truth was being "trampled" and the country was being "misled". He asserted that there was complete transparency in the deal and advised the Opposition to restrain from "childish statements" when it comes to sensitive matters like national security.
  
  
• Responding to Rahul's jibe who said PM Modi was a "bhagidaar (participant)" instead of being a "chowkidaar (watchman)", the latter said that the Gandhi-Nehru family is a "thekedar (contractor)" and "saudagar (trader)".
  
  
• In his address, the Prime Minister also said, "I pray to Lord Shiva and the citizens of the country to give you the strength to bring a no-confidence motion in 2024 also."

The words have come to be almost prophetic as the government is set to face debate on the no-confidence motion with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi once again being one of the key Opposition leaders who will take on the ruling party in the debates.