NEW DELHI: Leaders of several opposition parties on Monday staged a protest in Parliament complex demanding that PM Modi make a statement in the House on the Manipur issue.The opposition parties shouted chants against the administration in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s monument in the Parliament complex while holding placards and banners that read, “INDIA for Manipur” and “INDIA demands PM’s statement on Manipur.” Speaking to reporters, Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said it is the prime minister’s responsibility to deliver a thorough speech in Parliament regarding the violence in Manipur. “It is dishonourable that the prime minister is speaking outside the House during a sitting of Parliament.It is his responsibility to make a thorough speech about the violence in Manipur inside of Parliament, the Congress leader remarked. “We are asking the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for the Prime Minister to make a statement regarding the situation in Manipur. We prefer a discussion under Rule 167, but the Modi administration prefers a discussion under Rule 176 that lasts only 30 minutes.We want to use Rule 267, which allows for voting,” he added.According to Rule 267, we will have a discussion after the prime minister makes a statement, he said. According to Kharge, the BJP and the Modi administration are unable to avoid their constitutional obligations to and accountability for Manipur. The opposition is steadfast in its demand for the prime minister’s response first, but the administration has consented to allow a brief discussion on the Manipur issue with the Home Minister responding to it. Due to the impasse between the opposition and the government about the Manipur issue, neither the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha were able to conduct any work during the Monsoon Session.
