In this picture taken August 9, 2023, women belonging to the 'Meira Paibis', a group of women representing Meitei community, hold torches during a demonstration demanding the restoration of peace in India's north-eastern Manipur state in Imphal, following ongoing ethnic violence in the state. (Photo / AFP)

NEW DELHI - The no-confidence motion brought by the opposition parties in India against the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was defeated by a voice vote in the Indian parliament's lower house on Thursday.

More than 180 people have been killed, many hundreds more wounded and tens of thousands rendered homeless since May in Manipur.  

The debate over the no-confidence motion lasted for three days after it was introduced by a lawmaker belonging to the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), on Tuesday.

The main agenda of the opposition parties to bring in the no-confidence motion was to discuss the situation in the strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur

The main agenda of the opposition parties to bring in the no-confidence motion was to discuss the situation in the strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur.

READ MORE: Manipur violence: India rejects European Parliament's resolution

Manipur has been on edge since May 3 when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status, designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.

The no-confidence vote was moved by a new, Congress-led opposition alliance called "INDIA".  Modi, in a two-hour speech on Thursday, dismissed the move as a vain attempt to "defame India". 

The stand-off has raised the political temperature eight months before national elections are due in the world's largest democracy - and one of its fastest growing economies - due in April-May 2024. 

With Reuters inputs