As the monsoon session of Parliament enters day 4, the Opposition is unlikely to back down from its demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi open the debate on Manipur in the Lok Sabha, dousing any hopes of breaking the current impasse.
The Opposition lawmakers continued their sit-in protest near the Gandhi statue through the night to Tuesday morning. The MPs have refused to budge despite the government stating that Home Minister Amit Shah will reply to any such debate on the Manipur issue. "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.
#WATCH | Delhi | Opposition MPs of the Rajya Sabha continue their sit-in protest over the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh for the current session of the Parliament as well as the Manipur issue. pic.twitter.com/VnQo48qkok
— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023
This comes as Amit Shah expressed willingness to debate the issue. "I am willing for discussion in Lok Sabha on the situation in Manipur but do not know why the Opposition does not want it," Shah said on Monday. He added that the opposition leaders should allow a debate, saying it was important for the truth to come out before the country on the Manipur issue.
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.
Congress chief and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said that Opposition had every right to question in the Parliament. "Are you comparing any one state to Manipur (situation)? There is no law and order there...Has this been happening anywhere else? It is not right to take someone else's example to hide their weakness. You have the right to speak there (in the states concerned), you have your people there. We have the right to question here in the Parliament, so we are doing it..."
Meanwhile, the BJP parliamentary party is set to hold its weekly meeting on Tuesday. The party senior leaders, including Modi, may speak on the ongoing logjam, reported PTI.
According to BJP sources, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken to Opposition leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress and DMK leader T R Baalu, to break the impasse but failed to yield a result.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar also reportedly held a meeting with Opposition leaders from the Upper House, including Jairam Ramesh, BRS' K Keshava Rao, BJD's Sasmit Patra and AAP's Raghav Chadha, in this regard as well. The meeting ended within minutes, as the opposition walked out and said they were "boycotting it".
(With PTI inputs)
