Manipur issue dominates first day of Parliament’s monsoon session | India News

NEW DELHI: The Manipur issue dominated Parliament on Thursday as the House opened for the Monsoon Session. Both houses were rocked by the Manipur violence issue and proceedings for the day were washed out on the first day of the session.
The Opposition demand for Prime Minister’s statement on Manipur in the House, to begin a discussion on the ongoing violence in state, ended up in disruption for which both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for the day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the raging violence in the north-eastern state before entering the House. Later, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi told the PM that Manipur should be discussed in the House when Modi walked over to her to ask about her health inside the Lok Sabha chamber.
Opposition parties had met at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber before the House opened on Thursday morning and decided that no proceedings will be allowed without first having a discussion on Manipur, with the PM making a statement on the situation in the state.
Both houses failed to transact any business as opposition members created uproar over the situation in Manipur despite the government’s assurance that it was ready to discuss the issue in both Houses. The session started a day after a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4 went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage.
With the opposition MPs shouting slogans such as “Manipur Manipur” and “Manipur is burning”, Parliament witnessed frequent adjournments before finally adjourning for the day.
Parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi spoke on behalf of the government saying it has already made clear that it was open to a discussion on Manipur in both Houses of Parliament. He said that deputy leader in Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh has also given a similar assurance.
Joshi said that home minister Amit Shah would make a detailed reply once the discussion takes place, the time of which will be decided by the Speaker, but opposition members rejected any suggestion short of statement from the PM. As opposition members continued raising slogans, Kirit Solanki, chairing proceedings adjourned Lok Sabha for the day.
The proceedings of the Upper House were also adjourned for the day within minutes of the house meeting at 2 PM after initial adjournments.
Leader of Opposition Kharge said he has been demanding a discussion on the Manipur issue since morning but has not been allowed to despite giving notice in advance. “I have made my full efforts to attract your attention and given notice but unfortunately, I am not allowed to raise this (rule) 267. You know Manipur is burning, women are raped and paraded naked… and Prime Minister is keeping quiet. He is giving a statement outside” he said.
When the RS chairman allowed notices for a short-duration discussion on Manipur, Kharge raised objections saying all business of the House be suspended first. “How the Leader of the House suddenly gets up and says we are ready for a discussion. We have given notices under Rule 267 for suspending all business and taking up the issue. Let the Prime Minister give a statement and we will discuss it,” he told the chairman.
Derek O’Brien (TMC) said discussion on Manipur should be taken up under Rule 267 and that the Prime Minister must break his silence on Manipur in the House.
Several opposition members, including Kharge, had given notices under Rule 267 while demanding a discussion on Manipur violence.
Congress’ chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh said, “so the first day of the Monsoon session of Parliament was washed out. This was because the Modi government did not agree to INDIA’s demand for an immediate discussion on the post-May 3rd situation in Manipur following a statement by the PM inside Parliament.”