Parliament debates no-confidence motion against Modi's gov't

Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi accuses the government of failing to live up to its promises as Parliament begins debating a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Gandhi on Thursday accused the government of creating only 400,000 new jobs as against 20 million jobs promised in a year.

The motion holds no threat to Modi’s 4-year-old government, which has a clear majority in the powerful 545-member lower house of parliament, controlling more than 300 seats.

Opposition leaders, however, hope to reap political gains ahead of national elections early next year. They also accuse the government of failing to check rising violence against women, minority Muslims and Dalits.

Modi is expected to respond to opposition accusations in his speech ahead of the vote later Thursday.