Monsoon Session Begins: TMC to bring motion on Manipur violence in Assembly, BJP protests

“It has been decided that a discussion will be held in the Assembly on the situation in Manipur and the humanitarian crisis that the northeastern state is facing. The date and under which rule the discussion will be held is yet to be decided,” TMC chief whip Nirmal Ghosh said after the all-party meeting.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shobhandev Chattopadhyay said the decision to bring a motion in the Assembly condemning the ongoing violence in Manipur was taken because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has remained silent on the issue. “Incidents of violence against women have taken place in Manipur. Prime Minister Modi speaks on various issues, but is silent on Manipur… That is why, the decision was taken to table this motion in the Assembly,” the minister said.

The Opposition BJP, which has been boycotting all-party meeting and meetings of the business advisory committee for the last few sessions, said they would take part in the discussion to “expose” the TMC government by raising the issues of “atrocities against women” and panchayat poll violence.

The BJP said that it would bring an adjournment motion in the Assembly on violence during the panchayat polls in the state that left over 50 people dead.

“We are eager to take part in the discussion (on Manipur violence) because we will be able to highlight the incident of atrocities on women in West Bengal during the TMC rule, especially the two recent cases that took place in Panchla and Malda,” said a BJP leader, pointing to a July 18 incident where two tribal women were allegedly stripped and assaulted in a village in Malda district.

“The state government is trying to divert attention from its failures. We want discussions on women’s safety in Bengal, and panchayat poll violence in the state,” BJP’s Siliguri MLA Sankar Ghosh said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already given a statement on Manipur. But TMC is trying to do politics. We will answer it in the debate,” Ghosh added.

The ruling TMC in West Bengal has been alleging that “divisive” policies of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Manipur have led to the ethnic strife in Manipur that has left 160 people dead since May 3, when violence broke out in the northeast state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

A five-member TMC delegation which returned to Kolkata last week after visiting Manipur described the violence in the northeast state as the ”most horrific and barbaric” incident to have taken place in Independent India. “The situation is terrible there. In post-Independent India, one of the most horrific killings is happening there and the BJP government has become a mute spectator. We were shocked to see the situation… More than 5,000 houses have been burnt. About 57,000 people are living in temporary camps. There is a shortage of food and medicines.

There is no electricity. People from both sides have been affected,” TMC MP Kakali Ghosh Dastidar, who visited the state, had said on her return.

The TMC as part of the 26-party Opposition alliance INDIA has been demanding a discussion and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on Manipur in Parliament.

Last week, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident in Manipur of two women being paraded naked, calling it “an act of barbarism”.

Meanwhile, the Assembly was adjourned for the day on Monday after obituary references to eminent personalities who died recently.

Obituary references were made to eminent Bengali writers Samaresh Majumdar and Sasthipada Chattopadhyay, former state minister Dawa Lama and former MLAs Prabodh Purkait, Dr Tarun Adhikary.

The Assembly will take up reports of different standing committees on Tuesday and Wednesday to be followed by the question and answer session from Thursday, officials said.

The monsoon session is likely to continue for two weeks.