Jointly sponsored by the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) and the Janata Dal, the motion was put to vote by Speaker Dhirubhai Shah when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Mehta insisted on a division, although there was never any doubt about the ruling party's strength.

The vote came after an almost four-hour-long, somewhat acrimonious debate in which the opposition blamed the government for the huge loss of life in the June 9 cyclone, deteriorating law and order, atrocities on minorities and weaker sections, rising prices, neglect of farmers, and corruption.

But the opposition attack lacked punch, and many of its benches remained empty during the debate and also at the time of voting. By contrast, all BJP members were present and its counter-attack, spearheaded by senior ministers, was effective.

When the chief minister got up to reply to the debate, he did not have to labour much. In his brief remarks, he denied that the government hadn't taken sufficient precautionary measures before the cyclone, rebutted the charge of atrocities on weaker sections, and said the government had taken steps to make police more effective. Addressing himself to Leader of Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary, the chief minister said no argument could convert half-truths and falsehoods into truths. ``Let us all work for making Gujarat a prosperous and vibrant state,'' he said, adding that it was unfortunate that there was so much poverty and illiteracy even 50 years after independence.

Earlier, initiating the debate, Chaudhary alleged that the government was being run by bureaucrats. He said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had posted one man to keep a watch on each minister. Thus emboldened, the RSS men were harassing minorities. They had tried to politicise a marriage between a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl in Bardoli and incidents of harassment of Christians at Vadodara and Dang.