Parliament Monsoon Session : Both Houses adjourned amid Opposition uproar over Manipur issue
On the first day of the Monsoon Session, the Lok Sabha has postponed its session until 2 pm as a gesture of respect for the Members of the House who have recently passed away.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm over differences of opinions among MPs regarding short duration discussion and discussion under Rule 267 in the House, on the Manipur situation, ANI reported.
Since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur on May 3, opposition parties have been questioning the Prime Minister’s silence on the matter. Before the commencement of the Monsoon Session, Prime Minister Modi addressed reporters at the Parliament complex, expressing his condemnation of the alleged incident of women being paraded naked in Manipur.
He asserted that this incident had brought shame to the entire nation and assured that the law would take severe action, ensuring that those responsible would not escape justice.
Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha had suspended its proceedings until 12 noon as a mark of respect for the late sitting MP Hardwar Dubey, who passed away in June.
As reported by PTI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi exchanged a brief conversation in the chamber.
As a customary practice, before the session commenced, Modi greeted various leaders by taking a round. When he reached the bench where the opposition leaders were seated, he had a brief exchange with Sonia Gandhi, PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, several opposition party leaders of met at the chamber of Mallikarjun Kharge in the Parliament complex to chalk out their joint strategy.
During the first meeting of the newly formed ‘INDIA’ alliance, opposition leaders decided to prioritize the issue of Manipur violence and seek a discussion on the situation in the northeastern state. In response, several leaders from the Congress and other opposition parties have submitted adjournment notices in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, demanding a debate on the Manipur situation and seeking answers from the government.
“We will raise the Manipur issue and I have also given a notice in Rajya Sabha to raise the issue. We will see whether our Chairman allows us to raise it or not,” Kharge told reporters.
Kharge, who serves as the Congress president and is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has issued an adjournment notice concerning the matter. He expressed concern that despite nearly 80 days having passed since the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has neither visited the state nor addressed the situation in any public statement.
Several leaders, including Kharge, Naseer Hussain, Manish Tewari, Jothimani from the Congress, Priyanka Chaturvedi from the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Nama Nageswara Rao from the BRS, have given notices demanding a discussion on the Manipur issue in Parliament.
(With inputs from PTI)
