Manipur violence: Both Houses adjourned amid uproar by Opposition MPs

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned, Lok Sabha till 2.30 pm and Rajya Sabha till 3 pm, on Monday amid ruckus by the Opposition MPs who demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ethnic violence in Manipur.

As the Lok Sabha reconvened at 12 noon after an earlier adjournment, sloganeering from the Opposition benches continued even as the government transacted some legislative business, with three Bills introduced and one withdrawn amid the din.

Three Bills introduced in LS

While the government withdrew the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019, it introduced three bills — the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Also read: Opposition MPs to stage protest on July 24 to press for PM’s statement on Manipur

Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, urged the Opposition members to go back to their seats for a debate to take place but the latter continued with their protests, demanding a statement from the prime minister on Manipur. Agrawal then adjourned the House till 2 pm.

As soon as the House met at 11 am, Opposition members from the Congress, DMK, Left parties and others were on their feet. Speaker Om Birla allowed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to speak. Chowdhury said Modi should make a suo-motu statement on the floor of the House on the violence in Manipur.

VIDEO | "Our demand is that PM should make a statement in the House. We are ready to discuss on that statement," says Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as 'INDIA' alliance parties stage protest outside Parliament on Manipur crisis.#ParliamentMonsoonSession pic.twitter.com/dNONXLBR4s

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 24, 2023

As the Opposition members stuck to their demand for a statement from the prime minister, the speaker continued with the proceedings. The House functioned for about 30 minutes amid the sloganeering and protest by the Opposition. Birla again appealed to the opposition to allow the Question Hour to go on smoothly as he was ready for a discussion on the Manipur violence from 12 noon onwards. As the protests continued, the speaker adjourned the House till 12 noon.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh suspended

Meanwhile, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remaining duration of the Monsoon session for repeatedly “violating” the directives of the chair.

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved the motion to suspend him, which was adopted by the House by voice vote. Before the motion was moved, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named Singh for his “unruly behavior” and cautioned him. Soon after suspending Singh, the chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm as Opposition members continued to create uproar in the House. They were demanding a statement from the prime minister in the House on the Manipur issue.

#WATCH | Rajya Sabha Chairman suspends AAP MP Sanjay Singh for the remaining duration of the Monsoon session during the Opposition's protest in the House over the Manipur issue pic.twitter.com/YpNYIhhMck

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2023

When the House met at 12 noon, Opposition members were on their feet raising slogans and demanding that the prime minister make a statement in the House on Manipur. Amid uproar by Opposition members, the chairman announced that the Question Hour will be taken up.

The Question Hour continued for a few minutes amid the din, when Singh moved into the well and pointed out at the chairman. He was first asked to go back to his seat. When he did not, Dhankhar said, “I name Sanjay Singh”. Soon, Goyal got up and said he wanted to move a motion to suspend Singh. Soon after the House was adjourned, Goyal went to the chairman’s chamber and leaders of many Opposition parties followed him.

Also read: Appeal to Opposition with ‘folded hands’ to join debate on Manipur: Anurag Thakur

Vying for protest venue

Earlier, INDIA coalition MPs had announced that they would protest in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament, starting 10.30 am on Monday over Manipur issue. However, before the Opposition MPs could gather at the protest site BJP MPs from Rajasthan began arriving at the Gandhi statue, starting 9.30 am, with placards demanding Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s resignation over alleged atrocities against women and Dalits. The Opposition MPs then staged a protest a short distance away, on the opposite side of the Gandhi statue.

As Opposition persisted with its demand for a discussion in Parliament over the Manipur situation, preceded by a statement by the Prime Minister, 10 BJP MPs also move notices under Rule 176 (short duration discussion) in the Rajya Sabha demanding discussions on atrocities against women, tribals in Congress-ruled Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, BRS-ruled Telangana and TMC-ruled Bengal. RS chairman says he has already ruled in favour of a short duration discussion on the Manipur situation and the fresh Rule 176 notices given by BJP MPs are under his active consideration. Besides, 27 Opposition MPs moved fresh Rule 267 notices in Rajya Sabha demanding suspension of business of the House to discuss the situation in Manipur.

(With inputs from agencies and Puneet Nicholas Yadav)