Proceedings in the Indian Parliament during the Monsoon Session were disrupted on Tuesday once again after opposition parties continued to create a ruckus demanding a statement from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation in violence-hit Manipur.
Manipur has seen months of tribal violence since May, and a recent video of two women being paraded naked by a mob and assaulted went viral and caused international condemnation.
On the fourth day of the Monsoon Season, several parliamentarians gave adjournment notices in both the Houses seeking discussion on the Manipur issue.
In the Lok Sabha (Lower House), Congress members Manish Tewari and Gaurav Gogoi issued the notice, while in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House), opposition members K Keshava Rao, KR Suresh Reddy, Joginipalli Santosh Kumar, Badugula Lingaiah Yadav, Ranjeet Ranjan, Manoj Jha, Syed Naseer Hussain, Tiruchi Siva and Imran Pratapgadhi did likewise.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar was forced to adjourn the session three times on the fourth day after disruption following an opposition demand to discuss Manipur under rule 267.
Similar scenes were witnessed in the Lok Sabha. However, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired an all-party meet to end the impasse over the unrest in Manipur but the session was still adjourned till 5 p.m.
The disruptions came despite government promises to discuss the situation in Manipur, including from Federal Minister Piyush Goyal, who promised a debate on the issue, as well as on atrocities on women in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan under rule 176 that allows for a time-limited, urgent public discussion.
For his part, Home Minister Shah has said that the government will bring in a new co-opreative policy before Diwali this year, and that the government is ready to discuss the Manipur issue. He also commented that he has written to the leaders of opposition in both Houses urging them to create a conducive atmosphere for discussion on this sensitive matter.
Before the session began on Tuesday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a parliamentary party meeting in the parliament premises at which Modi was reportedly present.
Addressing the closed-door meeting, Modi came down heavily on the opposition for its conduct in the House.
While talking to the media, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said: “PM Modi said that from the opposition's conduct, it seems that they have decided to remain in the opposition. We have to work in the interest of the public and move forward.”
BJP parliamentarian Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that Modi said that he has never seen such a “directionless opposition."
Parliament will resume on Wednesday.