Govt loses vote of confidence, President accepts Vajpayee's resignation
Vajpayee Govt loses by one vote, Yes - 269, No - 270
Stock markets in free fall
April.17,1999
Updated at 1700 hrs IST
Govt loses vote of confidence, President accepts Vajpayee's resignation
Shortly after 2 pm, Speaker G M C Balayogi announced the result of the close vote on the confidence motion, marking the fall of the 13-month old coalition comprising 14 parties. Immediately thereafter he adjourned the house till Monday morning. The vote indicates that the five-member BSP group, which had announced yesterday that it would abstain, cast its lot with the opposition. It was not immediately clear if there were divisions among other parties. Of a total of 542 members present, 270 voted against the government, 269 for it and three abstained.
Cong will try to form alternative under Sonia's leadership
Congress will work towards providing a viable alternative under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar said today. "We will discuss with other opposition parties and work for a viable alternative to provide a stable government," he told reporters minutes after the motion of confidence moved by the Vajpayee government, was defeated. |
