No trust motion against Gujarat government admitted, not proceeded in house

A no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Vijay Rupani government moved by the opposition was admitted in the assembly on Wednesday. However, the CM, citing reasons and rules, did not allow the proceedings on the same, following which the enraged opposition staged a protest in the house and, finally, a walk out.

"There is no requirement of a no-confidence motion against the government. They're doing this to come to power. Nine months have passed since this government has come to power. The people are happy with our administration. The people don't trust the Congress. I don't accept any confidence motion. There is no situation or no rule for debate on the motion on such short notice," the CM said.

"There are a number of instances in history of the Gujarat assembly where the CM and the leader of the house have allowed to debate on the no-trust motion on a short notice. The CM also was not confident on the strength of his government. Therefore, he pulled up all members of the ruling party and asked them to remain present in the house. This shows he also does not have trust in his members," the leader of opposition said.

Deputy leader of opposition Shailesh Parmar moved the no-confidence motion against the government and the speaker admitted it.

Speaking on the motion, Parmar said, "This government failed on many fronts. No confidence motion was passed against the government 28 times. This is the 29th time and it is necessary to do so as this government is not functioning well. The CM should show sportsmanship spirit to hold a debate on the issue."

"The opposition was well aware of the proceedings and rules for the no-confidence motion. But they deliberately moved this motion when there was not enough time to proceed on as per the rules of the assembly. They knew that the session is for two days and the motion can't proceed. They are trying to kill time and did this just to grab people's attention through this publicity stunt," deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said.

Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Pradipsinh Jadeja cited the rules of the assembly and denied holding any debate or shouting against the ruling party. Some of the members also rushed to the shouting and Speaker Rajendra Trivedi asked sergeants to drag them out of the house. The rest of the members of opposition staged walkout thereafter.

State’s debt pegged at Rs 2.17 lakh crore

Gujarat’s public debt stood at Rs 2,27,338 crore as per revised estimates for the fiscal 2017-18, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Nitin Patel replied in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, while replying to a question posed by Shailesh Parmar, Congress MLA from Danilimda constituency. Patel said the fiscal 2016-17, witnessed a rise of Rs 18,595 crore, compared to a rise of Rs 18,000 as per revised estimates of 2017-18. Patel also said that the government had paid Rs 16,087 crore in form of principal for repayment of loans in the fiscal 2016-17 and another Rs 9,073 crore in form of interest.

Rs 200 crore earned from KG Basin

Gujarat government has earned Rs 210.27 crore from KG Basin, Petrochemicals Minister and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani informed in Legislative Assembly. Replying to a question by Patan MLA Kiritkumar Patel, chief minister said that the government earned Rs 105.17 in 2016-17, and Rs 95.10 crore in 2017-18. The minister also said that Gujarat has received 138.55 mm of gas from KG Basin in past two years, 73.77 mcm gas was mined in fiscal 2016-17, while 64.78 mcm gas was mined during the year 2017-18.

Illegal building at Surat airport

Illegal construction has been holding up the expansion of Surat airport, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said in Legislative Assembly, while replying to a question by Khedbrahma MLA Ashwin Kotwal on Wednesday. Quoting Airport Authority of India (AAI), he said that there are 18 high-rise buildings in the vicinity of the airport which are obstructing the expansion.