The discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition parties led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will take place on Monday and Tuesday next week.
The voting is scheduled to take place at 1800 hour IST Tuesday.
Earlier, on Thursday the opposition parties had given a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi to move a no-confidence motion against the National Democratic Alliance government. The opposition parties also decided to boycott Rajya Sabha for the remainder of its session.
The decision came in the wake of the 'refusal' by the defence ministry to hand over the Chief Vigilance Commission's report on defence deals to the Public Accounts Committee probing purchases made during the Kargil war.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra told television channel Aaj Tak that the government did not face any threat on account of the impending motion saying the NDA had enough numbers to sail through.
The no-confidence motion will be taken up on Monday and discussion will go on till Tuesday. The voting has been scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 1800 hours IST.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj admitted the opposition move had come as 'a surprise'.
"We were not aware of it till we went to the Lok Sabha Business Advisory Committee meeting where Speaker Manohar Joshi informed that Sonia Gandhi had given a notice for no-confidence motion," she said.
Swaraj said the government had told the speaker to bring the no-confidence motion at the earliest.
Meetings of NDA coordination committee and also that of MPs of the ruling combine would be held over the next two days to chalk out the strategy, she said.
The BJP is issuing a three-line whip to its members to be present in the House on the two days and vote for the government, she said.
Swaraj dubbed as 'premature' the suggestion as to who among the ministers would take part in the debate.
The debate would be telecast live all over the country following a decision by the speaker after deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Shivraj Patil made a suggestion at the BAC meeting, Swaraj said.
Congress spokesman Tom Waddakam told rediff.com the decision on moving a no-trust motion was taken at the dinner meeting on Thursday between various opposition leaders. He admitted the party did not have the numbers to topple the government, but said the move was aimed at forcing the government to agree to a discussion on why it refused to provide the CVC report on defence deals to the PAC.
Senior BJP leader J P Mathur described the opposition move as a decision born out of compulsion due to their efforts at disrupting the Parliament on the PAC issue not making any headway.
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav supporting the no-confidence motion said his party members will use the debate to 'expose the failures' of the government.
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav said his MPs will support the no-confidence motion.
Alleging the NDA government was a 'total failure on all fronts', Yadav said, "This communal dispensation should go... The sooner it goes the better."
Expressing confidence the Vajpayee ministry would be voted out of power, he called upon all secular forces to solidly stand behind the Congress president Sonia Gandhi's notice for no-confidence motion.
Describing the Centre as 'anti-people, anti-youth and anti-farmer', Yadav said the government had failed to do anything substantial for generating employment and eradicating poverty.
"Even the country's unity and integrity is not safe in the hands of NDA ministry," Yadav said, referring to reports about alleged irregularities in defence purchases.
He said he would camp in New Delhi to drum up support of secular parties for the no-confidence motion.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Tariq Anwar also said his party will vote against the government on Tuesday.
With inputs from PTI
