The Delhi-ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announced that it would stage a nationwide protest on Tuesday over the ongoing violence in Manipur.
According to party officials, prominent leaders of the AAP will lead the protest in Delhi, while party workers will hold the protest in the other parts of the country.
The AAP, along with other opposition parties on Monday, even staged a protest in the parliament demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both houses (upper and lower) over the Manipur violence.
Earlier in the day, AAP parliamentarian in Rajya Sabha (upper house) Sanjay Singh was suspended for the rest of the Monsoon Session for repeatedly “violating” the directives of the chair.
The call to suspend Singh was made by the Rajya Sabha chairman and Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar during the protest by the opposition parties over the situation in the north-eastern state.
The opposition has been protesting over an incident in which two tribal women were paraded naked in Manipur. The video of the incident went viral recently; however, it is said to have taken place on 4 May (a day after violence broke out in Manipur).
Soon after Singh’s suspension, the house was adjourned as members of the opposition continued to create a ruckus.
Reacting to the suspension of Singh, AAP legislator Saurabh Bhardwaj said: “If Sanjay Singh is suspended for raising his voice for the truth, then we will not be upset. Our legal team will look into this matter, but this is unfortunate”.
The demand from the opposition parties was raised after the Monsoon Session of the parliament began on 20 July.
India’s north-eastern state Manipur has been witnessing violence since May 3, after clashes broke out between two tribal communities. As per media reports, over 160 people have lost their lives, while numerous more have been injured.