{"id":87654,"date":"2026-02-13T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=87654"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:40:00","slug":"motion-of-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/motion-of-thanks\/","title":{"rendered":"Motion of Thanks, Background, Provisions, Features, Significance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Motion of Thanks is an important parliamentary procedure in India. After every general election and at the beginning of each financial year, the President addresses both Houses of Parliament. In this speech, the President explains the government\u2019s policies, achievements and future plans. After the address, Members of Parliament discuss it in both Houses through a motion called the Motion of Thanks. This discussion allows MPs to review and debate the government\u2019s performance and priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Motion of Thanks Origin and Background<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The practice of the Motion of Thanks comes from the British parliamentary system <\/span><b>(Westminster model)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which India adopted after independence and adjusted according to its Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President\u2019s Address is not written by the President personally. It is prepared by the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/council-of-ministers-com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Council of Ministers<\/strong><\/a> and approved by the Cabinet, as it reflects the government\u2019s policies and programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The discussion in Parliament is not held directly on the President\u2019s speech. Instead, Members of Parliament debate it through a formal proposal known as the Motion of Thanks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The practice of the President addressing Parliament has its roots in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/government-of-india-act-1919\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Government of India Act, 1919<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After independence, the Constitution clearly provided for Presidential Addresses under Articles 86 and 87.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr Rajendra Prasad gave the first Presidential Address to Parliament in 1950.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Motion of Thanks Constitutional Provisions<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Article 86<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article 86 gives the President the power to address either House of Parliament separately or both Houses together.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The President can also require the presence of members for this purpose.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, this is a discretionary power and has rarely been used in practice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Article 87 &#8211; Special Address<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Article 87 provides for a <\/span><b>\u201cSpecial Address\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the President.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per <\/span><b>Article 87(1)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The President must <\/span><b>address both Houses of Parliament assembled together:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the<\/span><b> beginning of the first session<\/b> <b>after every general election<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Lok Sabha.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the <\/span><b>beginning of the first session of every year<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This Special Address is a constitutional requirement (mandatory). No other business can take place until the President delivers the Address.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Article 87(2)-Discussion through Motion of Thanks<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per Article 87(2), <\/span><b>Parliament must provide time to discuss matters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mentioned in the President\u2019s Address.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This discussion happens through the Motion of Thanks in both Houses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usually, about three days are allotted for debate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>President\u2019s Address<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Address is prepared by the <\/span><b>Council of Ministers and approved by the Cabinet<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as it reflects the <\/span><b>government\u2019s policies and programmes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It reviews the government\u2019s achievements of the previous year.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It outlines future policies, schemes, legislative proposals and priorities on national and international issues.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special Situations<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the Lok Sabha is dissolved at the beginning of the year, the Rajya Sabha can meet without the President\u2019s Address (as happened in 1977 and 1991).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a general election, the President addresses both Houses <\/span><b>only after the newly elected <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/lok-sabha\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lok Sabha<\/a> members take oath and the Speaker is elected.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Motion of Thanks Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Motion of Thanks is formally moved and seconded by members of the ruling party, who are chosen by the government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The discussion on this motion has a very wide scope. Members of Parliament can raise any issue of national or international importance, even if it is not mentioned in the President\u2019s Address.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amendments can be proposed, mainly by opposition members. These amendments may express regret over certain issues not being included or not properly addressed in the President\u2019s speech.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The debate ends with a detailed reply by the Prime Minister, who answers the points raised by members.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the Prime Minister\u2019s reply, amendments are put to vote first. Then the main Motion of Thanks is voted upon.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If amendments are passed, the motion is adopted in its amended form. In India\u2019s history, the Rajya Sabha has passed the Motion of Thanks with amendments only a few times (1980, 1989, 2001, 2015 and 2016). In the Lok Sabha, no amendment has ever been passed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Procedure of Motion of Thanks<\/b><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A ruling party member moves the Motion of Thanks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another member seconds it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A detailed discussion takes place on government policies, achievements and future plans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Prime Minister gives a final reply.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voting takes place on amendments and then on the main motion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><b>Motion of Thanks Outcome<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the Motion of Thanks is passed, it means the House approves the government\u2019s policies and programmes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the motion is defeated, it is treated as a serious political setback and can amount to a <\/span><b>loss of confidence in the government<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and may lead to the resignation of the government or <\/span><b>dissolution of the House<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It reflects strong opposition to the policies and agenda presented in the President\u2019s Address.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Motion of Thanks Significane<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is usually the first major debate of the parliamentary year and sets the direction for the Budget Session.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It ensures parliamentary accountability by allowing members to examine the government\u2019s performance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gives the opposition a constitutional platform to criticise the government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also acts as an indirect test of whether the government enjoys majority support in the House.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Know about Motion of Thanks in Parliament, its constitutional basis, origin, debate process and political significance after President Address.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":87647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[5107,5108,5388],"class_list":{"0":"post-87654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-studies","8":"tag-indian-polity","9":"tag-indian-polity-notes","10":"tag-motion-of-thanks","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87654"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87663,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87654\/revisions\/87663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}