Former prime minister Chandra Shekhar threw a bombshell on the floor of the Lok Sabha saying he had no opinion on the no-confidence motion being debated.

His statement means that the former prime minister in all probability will abstain when the motion comes up for voting on Tuesday evening.

Speaking on the motion, Chandra Shekhar lamented the decline of parliamentary standards. He said the spirit of cooperation is missing among the current crop of MPs.

Taking exception to the 'manner' in which an amendment to the People's Representation Act was passed by Lok Sabha before the no-confidence motion was taken up for discussion, Chandra Shekhar said it highlighted the undemocratic nature of the government.

But Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took exception to the former prime minister's statement and said the amendment in question was duly passed by Rajya Sabha before being taken up by Lok Sabha.

He said Parliament these days rarely discusses 'real issues' of poverty and unemployment. He claimed that close to 50 lakh people associated with Khadi industries are unemployed.

He lamented the government ignoring agriculture and giving impetus to multinational industries.

Complete Coverage of the No-confidence motion