No-confidence motion to make NDA government accountable: Shiv Sena mouthpiece

The Saamna editorial takes a critical view of the NDA government even though Shiv Sena's position on the no-confidence motion was not clear at the time of filing this report.

While Shiv Sena has not made its position clear on which side it would take during Friday's no-confidence motion in Parliament, party mouthpiece Saamna carried an editorial which read that the entire exercise would make the PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government more accountable.

In a House of 534 MPs, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 313 members including 274 (including the Speaker) of BJP, 18 of Shiv Sena, six of Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP and four from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Shiv Sena and BJP have had a tumultuous relationship which has become outright bitter in the last few months. While at the time of filing this report, the party had not made its political position clear, the Saamna editorial underlined the need for the non-confidence motion in Parliament. "Even the opposition knows it does not have the numbers to make the government fall. But the no-confidence motion brought about has not been with the view to topple the government but to make the Modi government more accountable."

The editorial further predicted that the government will give complex answers when attacked with a slew of questions and that certain tactics would be used which would show Indian democracy in a bad light.

The editorial then said that despite India becoming the fifth-largest economy in the world, it has not prevented farmer suicides and not stopped army personnel from getting killed in J&K. It said the government must answer questions revolving around these issues.

While the editorial did take a critical view of the NDA government, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut  said earlier on Friday that his party will make the correct decision and make it known before the no-trust motion.