Abstract Competition Solutions

NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION

• In India’s Parliamentary form of government, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of People (i.e. Lok Sabha) mentioned under article 75(3) of the Constitution. The procedure of no-confidence motion is provided to prove this majority on the floor of the house.
• The no-confidence motion is not mentioned under the Constitution of India rather it is provided under the rules of procedure of the Lok Sabha mentioned under rule number 198.
• A no-confidence motion to be admitted in the House has to garner the support of at least 50 Lok Sabha MPs. It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha not in Rajya Sabha (i.e. Council of States).
• If no-confidence motion is passed in the house, the government has no other option but to resign.
• Till July 26, 2023, 27 no-confidence motions have been moved in the Lok Sabha. None of these motions has been successful.
• The no-confidence motion moved against Narendra Modi government on July 26, 2023 by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi (from Kaliabor constituency in Assam) and admitted by LS Speaker Om Birla is 28th in number. The Congress MP was having support of opposition parties of INDIA alliance (INDIA stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance comprising of 26 opposition parties so far).
• In 1979, PM Morarji Desai resigned before even the House voted on the motion. This was the only time a government fell following a no-confidence motion.
• During the third Lok Sabha in 1963, the first no-confidence motion was moved by Acharya J.B. Kriplani against the government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Indira Gandhi government has faced maximum number of no-confidence motions, that is, 15 followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri and P.V. Narasimha Rao (3 each) and Morarji Desai (2).

WHAT IS ENEMY PROPERTY?

• These are assets and possessions left behind by people who have taken Pakistani or Chinese citizenship during Partition or after the 1962 and 1965 wars with these countries.
• The rights related to the management and disposal of enemy properties (both movable and immovable) are vested with the CUSTODIAN OF ENEMY PROPERTY FOR INDIA (CEPI), an authority created under the ENEMY PROPERTY ACT, 1968 (amended in 2017).
• The concept of "enemy property" was introduced as a result of the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, which led to the migration of individuals from India to Pakistan.
• The Defence of India Rules, which were formulated pursuant to the Defence of India Act, 1962, empowered the Indian government to seize the assets and companies of individuals who acquired Pakistani citizenship.
• The Enemy Property Act, 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of India, which enables and regulates the appropriation of property in India owned by Pakistani nationals. The act was passed following the Indo – Pakistan war of 1965. Ownership is passed to the Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI). The same approach was used for assets left behind by individuals who relocated to China following the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict.
• The 2017 amendment provides that the successors of those who migrated to Pakistan or China ceased to have a claim over the properties left behind in India. It also prohibited the civil courts and other authorities from entertaining disputes related to enemy property.
• According to official sources, there are a total of 12,611 Enemy Properties in India under the control of CEPI roughly estimated to be worth over Rs 1 Lakh crore. Out of them, 12,485 belong to Pakistani nationals and 126 belong to Chinese citizens.
• Recently, the Home ministry of India has initiated the process of auction of enemy properties in a transparent manner.
• New guidelines have been implemented for the disposal of enemy properties, which require the involvement of a district magistrate or deputy commissioner to initiate the eviction process before the sale of properties.
• In case of the enemy properties valued below Rs 1 Crore, the custodian shall offer for purchase to the occupant first and if offer of purchase is refused by the occupant, then the enemy property shall be disposed of in accordance with the procedure specified in the guidelines.
• Since August 2020, the Custodian of enemy property for India (CEPI) is Mr. Saurav Ray.