United Progressive Alliance: Difference between revisions
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==Vote of confidence== |
==Vote of confidence== |
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[[Image:Manmohansingh04052007.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]] |
[[Image:Manmohansingh04052007.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]] |
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The UPA faced it's first [[confidence vote]] in the [[Lok Sabha]] on [[22 July]], [[2008]] after the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]-led [[Left Front]] withdrew support over India approaching the [[IAEA]] for the [[Indo-US nuclear deal]]. The vote is crucial for the UPA led government and MPs summoned from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote.<ref name="Indian government survives vote ">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7519860.stm|title=Indian government survives vote |date=[[July 22]], [[2008]]|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2008-07-22}}</ref> The UPA went on to win the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256, with |
The UPA faced it's first [[confidence vote]] in the [[Lok Sabha]] on [[22 July]], [[2008]] after the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]-led [[Left Front]] withdrew support over India approaching the [[IAEA]] for the [[Indo-US nuclear deal]]. The vote is crucial for the UPA led government and MPs summoned from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote.<ref name="Indian government survives vote ">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7519860.stm|title=Indian government survives vote |date=[[July 22]], [[2008]]|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2008-07-22}}</ref> The UPA went on to win the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256, with 10 members abstained from the vote, a 19-vote victory.<ref name="Indian government survives confidence vote ">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/world/asia/23india.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin|title=Indian Government Survives Confidence Vote|date=2007-07-23|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''}}</ref> <ref>http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/23/content_8750775.htm</ref><ref>http://epaper.kashmirtimes.com/Default.aspx?Id=2B4C6A6F716A4B336C52326F4A47673831396E464B4B79756E764678756A366352543255303869426648303D</ref><ref>http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/india-upa-nuclear-deal-trust-vote-confidence-motion-bjp-left-reform.htm</ref> |
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===Voting === |
===Voting === |
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*Bhartiya Janata Party: [[Chandrabhan Singh]] (MP), [[Manorama Madhavaraj]] (Karnataka), [[Kishan Lal Diler]] (UP) and [[Bahubhai Katara]] (Gujarat) |
*Bhartiya Janata Party: [[Chandrabhan Singh]] (MP), [[Manorama Madhavaraj]] (Karnataka), [[Kishan Lal Diler]] (UP) and [[Bahubhai Katara]] (Gujarat) |
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*[[Mizo National Front]]: [[Vanlalzawla]], |
*[[Mizo National Front]]: [[Vanlalzawla]], |
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*[[Akali Dal]]: [[Sukhdev Singh Libra]], |
*[[Shiromani Akali Dal]]: [[Sukhdev Singh Libra]], |
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*[[Trinamool Congress]]: [[Mamata Banerjee]], |
*[[Trinamool Congress]]: [[Mamata Banerjee]], |
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*[[Janata Dal (United)]]: [[P.P. Koya]], |
*[[Janata Dal (United)]]: [[P.P. Koya]], |
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Revision as of 15:48, 24 July 2008
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (July 2008) |
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is the present ruling coalition of political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress (INC), which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the parliament of India). The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, and the Council of Ministers are drawn from members of the UPA. INC's President, Sonia Gandhi, serves as the Chairperson of the UPA.
The UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections after it became clear that the previous ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (or the NDA) had been defeated. The NDA had got only 181 MPs in 543 member 14th Lok Sabha which was short of a simple majority. The Indian Left parties, the Samajwadi Party with 37 (now 39) MPs and BSP with 17 (now 19) MPs were other significant blocks that opted to support UPA at various phases of its 50 month rule. The UPA did not enjoy a simple majority on its own in the parliament, rather it has relied on the external support given by these parties to ensure that it enjoys the confidence of the Indian parliament similar to the formula adopted by the previous minority governments of the United Front and the NDA.
An informal alliance had existed prior to the elections as several of the current constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. However, it was only after the election that the results of negotiations between parties were announced. The UPA's policies were initially guided by a common minimum programme that the alliance hammered out with fruitful consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59 member Left Front[1]. Hence, the govt's policies were generally perceived as center-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC and the left.
In the state of Jharkhand, the constituents of the UPA are by mutual agreement supporting the government led by an independent politician, Madhu Koda.[2]
At present the UPA is no longer supported by the left parties. It survived a vote of confidence in the parliament on 22 July, 2008 and is expected to last at least till its term expires in 2009.
Initial support
Initially, the United Progressive Alliance was given external support (that is, votes to form a government, but not as part of a governing coalition) from the Left Front. The left Front was the smallest of the three major coalitions (United Progressive Alliance and National Democratic Alliance) and consisting of the four main leftist parties: the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc, which totaled 59 MPs. These communist parties supported the UPA to ensure a secular government and avoid a BJP-dominated government.[3] The Left Front were not a part of the government and supported it externally, by providing the government with the requisite number of seats needed for staying in power.
Similar external support was also promised by several smaller parties that were not a member of any coalition, including the Samajwadi Party, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Janata Dal (Secular), and Bahujan Samaj Party, who promised to support the government if it faced a vote of confidence.Thus, the UPA had atleast 335 MPs out of 543 supporting it at the time of its formation[2].
Withdrawals
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was the first party to quit the alliance, first when its ministers quit the Andhra Pradesh government, and finally when an official withdrawal was done at the national level by its president K. Chandrashekar Rao, who resigned his Lok Sabha seat.[4]
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), began its drift when it tied up with the UPA's rival All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) during the Tamil Nadu elections, and on March 16, 2007 officially withdrew support.[5][6].
On June 21, 2008, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), with 17 seats, announced withdrawal of its support.[7]
On July 8, 2008, Prakash Karat, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), announced that Left Front would be withdrawing support over the decision by the government to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal, a Section 123 Agreement with the United States.[8]. On July 23, 2008, the UPA won a vote of confidence by 19 votes, with 275 MPs voting for the government.
Current constituents
Due to the volatile nature of coalition politics in India, the constituents of the UPA have been wavering. As of July 15, 2008 they were:[9]
- Indian National Congress (153 MPs)
- Rashtriya Janata Dal (24 MPs)
- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (16 MPs)
- Nationalist Congress Party (11 MPs)
- Pattali Makkal Katchi (6 MPs)
- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (5 MPs)
- Lok Janshakti Party (4 MPs)
- Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (rebel faction) (2 MPs)[10]
- All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (1 MP)
- People's Democratic Party (1 MP)
- Republican Party of India (Athvale) (1 MP)
- Sikkim Democratic Front (1 MP)
- Indian Union Muslim League (1 MP)
This totals 226, far short of the 272 seats needed for enjoying the confidence of the Parliament.
Outside support is currently being offered by the Samajwadi Party (which has 39 MPs, of which 37 support the UPA), the Bharatiya Navshakti Party (one MP),National Conference from Jammu and Kashmir (Two MP's)[11], Mizo National Front (1 MP) and by the National Loktantrik Party (one MP). In addition, the Congress Party claimed the support of three independent MPs.
Cabinet ministers in the government
As of November 29, 2006 the UPA has the following cabinet ministers in the Indian government[12]:
Vote of confidence
The UPA faced it's first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha on 22 July, 2008 after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front withdrew support over India approaching the IAEA for the Indo-US nuclear deal. The vote is crucial for the UPA led government and MPs summoned from their sick beds and even from prison cells to take part in the vote.[13] The UPA went on to win the confidence vote with 275 votes to the opposition's 256, with 10 members abstained from the vote, a 19-vote victory.[14] [15][16][17]
Voting
In the 543 member lower house UPA needed 272 votes for the government to enjoy a simple majority. Ten MPs did not record their vote. UPA won the trust vote with 275-256.[18]
Cross Voting & Abstensions
10 Members abstained from the voting, which allowed the government to have the lead it did [19]. The members who abstained were
- Bhartiya Janata Party: Chandrabhan Singh (MP), Manorama Madhavaraj (Karnataka), Kishan Lal Diler (UP) and Bahubhai Katara (Gujarat)
- Mizo National Front: Vanlalzawla,
- Shiromani Akali Dal: Sukhdev Singh Libra,
- Trinamool Congress: Mamata Banerjee,
- Janata Dal (United): P.P. Koya,
- Shiv Sena: Tukaram Ganpatram Renge Patil
- Telugu Desam Party: D K Audikesavulu.
4 Members of the opposition who cross voted in favour of the government proposal were
- Bhartiya Janata Party: Hari Singh Rathod (from Maharashtra) and H.T. Sangliana (from Karnataka).
- Biju Janata Dal: Harihar Swain (from Orissa)
- Janata Dal (United): Ramswaroop Prasad (from Bihar)
7 Members of the UPA who voted against the government were:
- Samajwadi Party: Munawwar Hasan, S.P. Singh Baghel, Rajnarayan Budholia, Jaiprakash Rawat, Ateeq Ahmed and Afzal Ansari (All from Uttar Pradesh). [20]
- Indian National Congress: Kuldeep Bishnoi (Haryana) [21]
Allegations of bribery
Three BJP MPs – Ashok Argal (Morena), Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla) and Mahavir Bhagora (Salumber) amidst discussion walked towards the Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and placed two brown and black leather bags on a table. They pulled out bundles of ₹1,000 (US$12) and alleged that Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh had tried to offer them bribe to vote in favor of the government.[22] The BJP MP Kulaste, alleged that Amar Singh and Congress leader Ahmed Patel, an aide to Sonia Gandhi tried to offer bribe of ₹9 crore (US$1.1 million) to remain absent from the confidence vote. Amar Singh has denied the charges.[22] Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked New Delhi's police chief to investigate the bribery issues.[23]Indian news channel CNN IBN which carried out the sting operation by recording using hidden cameras has agreed to share the material with Indian authorities.[24] Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked New Delhi's police chief to investigate the bribery issues. In turn, under the allegation of corruption, he called this a "sad day in the history of parliament."[25]
Expulsions
Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee, of CPI(M), had earlier rejected to resign from the post even after there were indications from his party. Chatterjee had rejected the calls for resigning from the post saying speaker's post was "constitutional" and not party dependent. Chatterjee had however, included his name in the list of MPs withdrawing support from the UPA-led government. On July 23, 2008 CPI (M) politburo removed Somnath Chatterjee from the CPI (M) of which he was a member for more than five decades.[26] Also, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled all it's eight members who defied party guidelines by cross voting and abstentions during the vote of confidence.[27] The Telugu Desam Party has reported that disciplinary action against two of its MPs, D K Adikeshavulu Naidu and M Jagannadham, would be taken as they voted in support of UPA government.[28]
See also
External links
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Madhu Koda to be next Jharkhand CM. Retrieved on March 26 2007.
- ^ "Secular govt a priority: Basu." Rediff Election Bureau 13 May 2004.
- ^ TRS withdraws support to the UPA. Retrieved on March 26 2007.
- ^ Vaiko withdraws support. Retrieved on March 26 2007.
- ^ [Retrieved on March 26 2007.
- ^ Mayawati withdraws support to UPA government. Retrieved on June 21 2008.
- ^ Left pulls out, will meet President Patil on Wednesday
- ^ Small parties, independents in great demand. Retrieved on July 15 2008.
- ^ Indian Prez summons PM: Trust vote likely on July 21 or 22, Singh garners enough votes. Retrieved on July 15 2008
- ^ Inching closer to vote, govt safe@272 NDTV
- ^ List of Council of Ministers. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
- ^ "Indian government survives vote". BBC. July 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Indian Government Survives Confidence Vote". The New York Times. 2007-07-23.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/23/content_8750775.htm
- ^ http://epaper.kashmirtimes.com/Default.aspx?Id=2B4C6A6F716A4B336C52326F4A47673831396E464B4B79756E764678756A366352543255303869426648303D
- ^ http://in.ibtimes.com/articles/20080723/india-upa-nuclear-deal-trust-vote-confidence-motion-bjp-left-reform.htm
- ^ UPA WINS TRUST VOTE: 275-256
- ^ Abstentions and cross-voting... Hindustan Times
- ^ Agony and ecstasy for Amar, all in one day Hindustan Times
- ^ 21 MPs cross-voted during Parliament trust motion Economic Times
- ^ a b "SINGH IS KING: UPA WINS TRUST VOTE". CNN IBN. July 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ afp.google.com, Indian PM celebrates vote win, says millions will benefit
- ^ "CNN-IBN: ready to submit sting material to Speaker". The Hindu. July 23 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Indian PM celebrates vote win, says millions will benefit
- ^ "CPI-M fails to pull down Govt, sacks Somnath". CNN IBN. July 23 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "BJP expels all rebel MPs who voted for UPA". CNN IBN. July 23 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "TDP to take action against MPs who voted for UPA". Times of India. July 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-23.