Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that he has written to opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, seeking their cooperation to discuss the Manipur violence issue in parliament. Kharge is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Chowdhury is the Congress leader in Lok Sabha.
"I want to reiterate that I have written letters to leaders of opposition in both Houses that we (government) are prepared for a discussion for as long as they want. The government is not afraid of anything. Those who want to debate the Manipur issue can debate. We have nothing to hide," Shah said while replying to a short debate on the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament remain disrupted from day one of the Monsoon session with the opposition parties demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence before a discussion.
According to reports, some parties of the opposition INDIA alliance are likely to move a notice for a no-confidence motion against the government in the lower house in an attempt to make the prime minister speak in Parliament on the Manipur violence.
A proposal to submit the notice was discussed at a meeting of the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Tuesday morning, PTI reported.
"I am not aware of their move but if they are doing so they should know that last time they brought a no-confidence motion, BJP came back to power with a stronger majority of over 300 seats and the same will happen again and we will get more than 350 seats," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in response.
Earlier, the Opposition lawmakers continued their sit-in protest near the Gandhi statue through the night to Tuesday morning.
"We are sitting here since yesterday. Our only demand is that PM Modi should speak on the Manipur issue. We will keep protesting here and I am still requesting PM Modi to come to the Parliament and talk on Manipur," AAP MP Sanjay Singh told ANI on Tuesday morning.
The Opposition wants a debate under Rule 267, a statement from the PM followed by the suspension of all regular proceedings to discuss the Manipur issue, while the Centre is only willing for discussion under Rule 176, which would be a short interaction not exceeding two-and a-half hours.
