MOTION OF THANKS TO PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS - POLITY
News: Modi
attacks Congress in his Motion of Thanks speech in Rajya Sabha, says his
priority is common people
What's in the news?
● Prime
Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the opposition in Rajya Sabha saying, “One
person is proving to be more than equal to them all" striking a combative
note that he is ready to take on any allegations made against him and his
government.
● The
Opposition members were crowding the well of Rajya Sabha sloganeering through
his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s
address to the joint session of Parliament.
Motion of thanks - Article - 87 (2):
● The first session after each
general election and the first session of every fiscal year is addressed by the
President.
● In
this address, the President outlines the policies and programmes of the Government
in the preceding year and ensuing year.
● The
Presidential address, which corresponds to the 'speech from the Throne in
Britain', is discussed in both the Houses of Parliament on a motion called the
'Motion of Thanks'.
● At the end of the
discussion, the motion is put to vote.
This motion must be passed in the House. Otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the Government.
● The
motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving
amendments to the motion.
● Opposition
MPs have been successful in getting amendments passed to the motion of thanks
in Rajya Sabha on five occasions, including in 1980, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2016.
● However,
they have been less successful in the Lok Sabha. For instance, MPs of the lower
house, in 2018, tabled 845 amendments of which 375 were moved and negated.
Significance:
● This
inaugural speech of the President is an occasion available to the members of
Parliament to raise discussions and debates to examine and criticize the Government
and administration for its lapses and failures.
● The
issues raised by MPs are then addressed by the Prime Minister, who also replies
to the motion of thanks.