Deadlock persists in Parliament as Manipur discussion stalls

The Opposition group stuck to its demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a detailed debate on the matter under Rule 267.

The government on Monday sharpened its attack against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), accusing them of politicising the violence in Manipur and shifting the goal posts by stalling a discussion on the ethnic clashes, which has killed at least 147 people over nearly three months, in the Rajya Sabha.

A view of the Rajya Sabha during ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. (PTI)

The Opposition group stuck to its demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a detailed debate on the matter under Rule 267, which allows for the listed business to be suspended to take up a matter of urgency.

Later, in a meeting called by Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, the INDIA parties suggested that they were not insisting on Modi’s participation during the debate, but insisted that he table a statement in the House. The government’s managers, however, pointed out how the Opposition created disruptions when the PM spoke in the Rajya Sabha the last time on the President’s speech.

With both sides adamant on their respective stances, there was no let-up in the logjam in Parliament on Monday, which saw several adjournments in both the Houses. In the Lok Sabha, INDIA leaders rushed to the well repeatedly with banners and raised slogans, forcing frequent adjournments.

Speaking outside Parliament, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at the Opposition, accusing it of “shedding crocodile tears” for the victims of violence in Manipur. In a stinging attack on the Opposition that wore black in protest over the violence that has roiled the northeastern state, Sitharaman said their “mindset is as black as the clothes they wore”.

“For the last eight days, the Opposition had been demanding a discussion on Manipur. Now they are running away. Manipur is just a political issue for them. It is now clear they were just shedding crocodile tears on the Manipur issue,” she said.

The minister also slammed the Opposition for placing conditions such as demanding that the discussion be taken up under Rule 267 and not allowing a short-duration discussion that was slated to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday afternoon. “This is a clear exposure of the hypocrisy of the Opposition,” she said.

The Union minister went on to read out the names of Opposition leaders who gave notices to take up the issue during a short-duration discussion under Rule 176, which allows a brief discussion not exceeding two-and-a-half hours.

When Dhankhar called upon Assam lawmaker Birendra Prasad Baishya to initiate the discussion on the violence in Manipur under Rule 176, the opposition MPs rose in protest, which led to the Upper House being adjourned.

The MPs demanded a statement from Modi and a detailed debate on the issue. Reacting to their demand, Sitharaman questioned why Opposition members, some of whom visited Manipur recently, would want to stall the discussion.

A 21-member delegation of INDIA was in Manipur last week, visiting relief camps and meeting victims of the violence that erupted in the state on May 3 following a high court order proposing the inclusion of the Meiteis in the list of scheduled tribes. Since then, clashes between the dominant Meiteis and the tribal Kukis have killed 147 people and displaced 40,000.

The Opposition’s demand for discussion under Rule 267 was an attempt to “politicise the issue”, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said on condition of anonymity. “There is no voting under both rules (267 and 176); so what is the rationale in their demand?” the leader asked.

There is a precedent to the Opposition seeking a statement from the PM and the BJP did the same when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power, and often didn’t allow the House to function till then PM Manmohan Singh made a statement, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

“INDIA parties are demanding suspension of all business in the Rajya Sabha, a statement by the PM on Manipur followed by a discussion thereafter. The Modi government has been resisting this and trying to give the impression that it is ready for a debate while saying nothing on a statement by the PM,” he said.

Earlier in the day, when the Rajya Sabha assembled, Dhankhar said he received 65 notices under Rule 267.

Commerce minister and leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, accused the Opposition of “trying to mock the Parliamentary process”. “They are trying to misuse the liberty given to all the members. This is clearly reflective of their mentality,” he said, referring to the demand for holding discussion under Rule 267.

The government agreed to a discussion in the all-party meeting and the debate could have happened on the first day of the monsoon session, but the Opposition wasted nine days, Goyal said. “The entire country is watching. I see no sense and wonder what message they are trying to give. Are they running away from the debate? What is that they are trying to hide?” he asked.

Goyal also suggested to Dhankhar that there was no need to read out the names of MPs who gave notices under Rule 267, as it was the Opposition’s “strategy” to bother the chair everyday.

At a meeting called by Dhankhar, INDIA leaders said the PM should at least “table a statement” on Manipur, said people aware of developments. “We also said that the INDIA parties are not insisting on his presence during the debate. If the government wants Union minister Amit Shah to reply, we might consider after talking to all the constituents of INDIA,” a leader said, declining to be named.

“Pandit Nehru came and spoke in Rajya Sabha on serious subjects and participated in debate. Atal Bihari Vajpayee came and discussed in Rajya Sabha. Dr. Manmohan Singh also participated and even Rajiv Gandhi came and discussed Bofors in Rajya Sabha,” Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien said outside Parliament. “We don’t want a two-hour discussion on Manipur. We want a full-fledged discussion under an emergency rule.”

After the meeting at Dhankhar’s office, two opposition leaders from the Congress and Trinamool Congress met a top-ranking minister and reiterated they are not insisting on Modi’s presence during the debate and they will talk to other INDIA constituents to consider home minister Shah’s reply to the debate.