Parliament logjam: Amit Shah says govt ready to discuss Manipur; Rajnath reaches out to Cong, DMK, TMC

This comes after Union Defence Minister and Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh rang up at least three members of the Opposition – Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC’s Sudip Bandhyopadhyay, and DMK’s T R Baalu (DMK) – last night in a bid to end the deadlock. “We are ready for discussion in Parliament,” Singh reiterated in the Lower House.

Earlier in the day, the Opposition held protests inside Parliament premises, holding placards and chanting slogans, demanding that the PM address the House on Manipur. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned amid the commotion.

Opposition party MLAs and MLCs protest during the Monsoon session of Maharashtra assembly, at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai, Monday, July 24, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said, “Our demand is that the PM should come to the House and make a statement. We are ready to discuss that statement. You are speaking outside but not inside, this is an insult to Parliament. It is a serious matter,” he said.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the government’s failure in controlling the situation in Manipur and said PM Modi should speak on the issue. “Does the PM have no answerability? He gave a 36-second statement outside Parliament, but he is not telling the country through Parliament why has the chief minister not been sacked yet… Why is the Women and Child Development Minister not visiting Manipur yet.”

Responding to the criticism, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi defended the ruling party by saying, “The opposition’s silence on crime against women in Rajasthan and West Bengal is troublesome. What is more painful is that the Rajasthan chief minister was not listening to his own minister.” He questioned Opposition leaders of being silent on issues regarding violence related to women in other states, and accused them of running away from a debate on the Manipur issue in Parliament.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh with TMC MP Shanta Chhetri and others comes out of the Parliament House during Monsoon session, in New Delhi, Monday, July 24, 2023. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday suspended Singh for the remaining duration of the Monsoon session for his “unruly behaviour”. (PTI Photo)

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, “The opposition should not make excuses. The PM has already made a statement on Manipur with sensitivity and firmness ahead of the (Monsoon) session. It is wrong that we didn’t start the discussion (on the Manipur issue in Parliament) at all by making an excuse in the name of the PM.”

Meanwhile, BJP president JP Nadda and Home Minister Shah met the Prime Minister at his office during the disruptions in the House.

While Manipur has been roiled by ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities since early May, a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob of men has sparked a nationwide outrage after it surfaced last week.

The Monsoon session had commenced a day after reports of the gruesome rape incident emerged, and has been strewn with protests by the Opposition over the matter.