Shruti Suman
Opposition MPs are currently staging a night protest outside Parliament in response to the ongoing political turmoil in Manipur. The group, known as ‘INDIA,’ comprises members from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress party. They are demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue a comprehensive statement addressing the ethnic violence that has persisted in Manipur for over two months.
The MPs, carrying placards reading ‘INDIA for Manipur,’ began their silent protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Parliament House at 11 pm and plan to spend the night there. This comes as the monsoon session of Parliament has been disrupted for three consecutive days due to the opposition’s demands for the Prime Minister’s statement.
The Congress party has expressed their frustration with the government’s refusal to accept INDIA’s request for a thorough statement by PM Modi in both houses of Parliament concerning the Manipur crisis. Several opposition MPs had submitted notices for an adjournment motion to discuss the situation in Manipur, but no concrete debate has taken place yet.
The opposition is calling for an unrestricted debate where all parties can freely express their opinions without time constraints. They have been protesting since the beginning of the monsoon session, emphasizing the importance of addressing the issues in Manipur.
The government, on the other hand, has accused the opposition of avoiding a genuine debate on this significant matter and has questioned their sincerity towards it. The opposition has countered these accusations, alleging that the government is also evading the debate.
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, criticized the government for being insensitive and failing to address the concerns of the opposition. He stressed the demand for the Prime Minister’s statement and expressed readiness for a discussion on the matter.
A BJP leader, Sudhanshu Trivedi, accused opposition leaders of running away from a debate and raised questions about their silence regarding violence against women in other states, referring to a recent incident in Manipur where two tribal women were paraded naked, and the opposition did not address the issue.
Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel defended the government’s stance, stating that the Prime Minister had already issued a statement on Manipur with sensitivity and firmness ahead of the monsoon session. He criticized the opposition for using the Prime Minister as an excuse to avoid discussions on the Manipur issue in Parliament.
