LS adjourned amid protests over Manipur issue; Kharge tells Modi to 'shed his ego'

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Tuesday (July 25) amid protests by opposition parties on the violence in Manipur.

As soon as the House met for the day, Opposition members sought to raise the issue and also started shouting slogans.

Speaker Om Birla asked the protesting members not to indulge in sloganeering and requested them to go back to their seats. While maintaining that there will be no solution to the issues by shouting slogans, Birla told them to allow the Question Hour as important matters were to be discussed.

As the protests continued, the proceedings were adjourned in around three minutes and now, the House will meet at 2 pm.

Opposition parties have been protesting against the ethnic violence in Manipur and have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parliament proceedings have been disrupted over the Manipur issue since the Monsoon session started on July 20.

Kharge tells Modi to ‘shed his ego’ 

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a “comprehensive” statement in both houses of Parliament on the violence in Manipur. He said the situation in the northeast was fragile and the repercussions of the Manipur violence seem to be spilling over to other states too, asserting that it was not good for the country’s sensitive border states.

Kharge said 83 days of unabated violence in Manipur require that the prime minister make a comprehensive statement in Parliament.

“Stories of absolute horror are now slowly trickling down. INDIA demands answers from the Modi Government on Manipur violence,” he said on Twitter. Kharge said it was high time that Modi sheds his “ego” and takes the country into confidence on Manipur.

“PM Modi must tell what his government is doing to improve the situation and when will normalcy return in Manipur,” he said.

83 days of unabated violence in Manipur requires the Prime Minister to make a comprehensive statement in the Parliament. Stories of absolute horror are now slowly trickling down.

INDIA demands answers from the Modi Govt on Manipur violence.

The situation in Northeast is… pic.twitter.com/N8eZTfB9ZK

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 25, 2023

The opposition has been demanding a statement from the prime minister in both houses of Parliament on the situation in Manipur, followed by a discussion.

Opposition leaders met to chalk out strategy

Leaders of the opposition alliance INDIA on Tuesday (July 25) met in New Delhi to chalk out their strategy in both houses of Parliament and are set to intensify their demand for a statement from the prime minister on the Manipur violence.

The leaders met in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and also decided to press for revoking the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh.

Singh, along with other opposition MPs, has been sitting on a protest before the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises after his suspension on Tuesday (July 25).

The AAP MP, one of the more vocal voices in the Rajya Sabha, was suspended for repeatedly “violating” the directives of the Chair after he rushed to the well of the House and pointed at the Chair during a protest by opposition members on the Manipur issue.

Also read: Mizoram protests today in support of Manipur’s Zo people; parties back stir

He alleged that he was suspended for demanding a statement from the prime minister on the Manipur issue in Parliament and said he would not remain silent.

Several MPs of opposition parties, including Naseer Hussain, Jebi Mather, Ranjeet Ranjan, Raghav Chadha, KR Suresh Reddy and K Keshava Rao, have given adjournment notices in Rajya Sabha under Rule 267 for a discussion on Manipur issue.

In the Lok Sabha, Congress party MPs Manish Tewari and Manickam Tagore have given adjournment notice for suspending all other business and discussing the Manipur issue.

AAP to stage protest at Jantar Mantar over Manipur situation

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will stage a protest in New Delhi on Tuesday (July 25) over the situation in strife-torn Manipur and against alleged incidents of brutality against women in the northeastern state.

The protest will be staged at Jantar Mantar.

Also read: Manipur issue: Parliament logjam continues; AAP’s Sanjay Singh suspended from RS

“The Aam Aadmi Party will hold a peaceful protest at 4 pm on Tuesday at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the increasing violence and brutality against women in Manipur. All friends are appealed to reach Jantar Mantar at 4 pm,” AAP’s Delhi state convenor Gopal Rai said in a tweet in Hindi.

मणिपुर में बढ़ती हिंसा और महिलाओं से बर्बरता के खिलाफ आम आदमी पार्टी आज शाम 4 बजे दिल्ली के जंतर मंतर पर शांतिपूर्ण विरोध प्रदर्शन करेगी। सभी साथियों से अपील है कि आज शाम 4 बजे जंतर मंतर जरूर पहुँचे।#ManipurVoilence

— Gopal Rai (@AapKaGopalRai) July 25, 2023

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Also read: Manipur: NDA’s northeast allies demand removal of CM Biren Singh

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.

(With agency inputs)