‘Truth must come out’: Amit Shah urges opposition to discuss Manipur

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said he was keen to have a discussion on the situation in Manipur in the Lok Sabha and asked why the opposition was not ready for it. Briefly speaking in the lower house of Parliament, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader urged opposition leaders to allow a debate, saying it is important for the country to “uncover the truth” on the Manipur issue.

As the House resumed at 2.30 pm after three earlier adjournments on the Manipur issue, Amit Shah said leaders of the ruling and opposition parties wanted to discuss the Manipur issue. But when the opposition members continued their protest demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings for the day.

Manipur violence: Government, opposition trade blame as Parliament is disrupted

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Both Houses of Parliament witnessed protests and adjournment once again on Monday as opposition parties raised slogans and held placards demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the violence in Manipur. Opposition parties asked why the Prime Minister is speaking outside the House and not inside as Parliament remained deadlocked over the Manipur violence.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the government of being insensitive.

“Our demand is that the PM should come to the House and give a statement. We are ready to discuss that statement. You are speaking outside but not inside, it is an insult to Parliament. This is a serious matter,” he said.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned the government’s failure to control the situation in Manipur and said that Prime Minister Modi should speak on the issue. He said, it has been more than 80 days and the violence is still not subsiding.

“Does the Prime Minister have no accountability? He made a 36-second statement outside Parliament, but he is not telling the country through Parliament why the Chief Minister has not been sacked yet. Why is the Home Minister failing to control the situation? Why is the Women and Child Development Minister not visiting Manipur yet,” he asked.

JD-U leader Lalan Singh said that the incidents in Manipur have brought shame to the country. “There is a ‘double engine’ government in Manipur, they are completely insensitive towards it. Our demand is that the PM should make a statement in the House,” he said.

TMC MP Saugata Roy said that his party has decided to protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue against the atrocities in Manipur. “We want a debate in Parliament, which should be initiated by the Prime Minister,” he said.

Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel said, “The opposition should not make excuses. The PM has already given a statement on Manipur with sensitivity and firmness before the (monsoon) session. It is wrong that we did not start the discussion (on the Manipur issue in Parliament) by making an excuse in the PM’s name.”

Manipur violence rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament on Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the monsoon session, with the opposition demanding a statement from the prime minister and a discussion on the situation in the strife-torn northeastern state.

The session began on May 4, a day after a video clip purportedly shot that showed two women being paraded naked by a mob in a village in Manipur went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage.

Manipur Police has arrested many of the accused seen in the video. A case of kidnapping, gangrape and murder has been registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unidentified armed miscreants, police said.