New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday raised the issue of Manipur with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was greeting opposition members in the Lok Sabha at the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
“When PM Modi was making his customary greeting to the leaders in the House, Sonia Gandhi took this opportunity and said I want discussion on Manipur in the Parliament,” Chowdhury, who seated right next to Gandhi, told reporters. “I think the PM was taken aback by this and had not anticipated such a question from her.”
When asked about the PM’s response to Gandhi’s request, Chowdhury said, “He said ‘alright, I will see’.”
The prime minister also enquired about Gandhi’s health, according to reports, days after her son and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted a photo of her wearing an oxygen mask during an emergency landing in Bhopal on Tuesday.
“It was a courtesy meeting by PM Modi and nobody should think beyond that,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam said. “Her helicopter was also delayed and PM Modi must have asked about her health. If anyone is making any statements on that it is absolutely baseless.”
“She [Sonia Gandhi] insisted that the discussion be done unconditionally. In a way, the session began today [Thursday] with a demand by madam herself, on behalf of the Opposition, to PM Modi,” Chowdhury, the West Bengal Congress chief, added. “We (other leaders) are not always able to take this direct approach but Sonia Gandhi refrained from making small talks and directly took advantage of the situation to raise the issue.”
{{/usCountry}}“She [Sonia Gandhi] insisted that the discussion be done unconditionally. In a way, the session began today [Thursday] with a demand by madam herself, on behalf of the Opposition, to PM Modi,” Chowdhury, the West Bengal Congress chief, added. “We (other leaders) are not always able to take this direct approach but Sonia Gandhi refrained from making small talks and directly took advantage of the situation to raise the issue.”
{{/usCountry}}A second Congress MP, requesting anonymity, told HT that the prime minister’s interaction with opposition members was happening after several years.
The newly formed Opposition coalition of 26 parties has urged the prime minister to speak on the ongoing ethnic clashes in Manipur that has engulfed the northeastern state since May 3, claiming at least 150 lives so far and displacing nearly 40,000 people.
In the all-party meeting on Wednesday, convened by the government to address their concerns ahead of the Monsoon Session, the Opposition demanded a discussion on Manipur violence.
Pressing concern surrounding Manipur gained momentum after a video of two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob in the northeastern state surfaced on Wednesday. The video is stated to be from early May and a police complaint regarding the incident was filed on May 18.
Addressing the media ahead of the Monsoon Session on Thursday, PM Modi condemned the sexual atrocities in Manipur. He said his heart was filled with anguish over the horrific video. “What happened can never be forgiven, guilty will not be spared,” Modi said.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders moved the Suspension of Business Notice under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha to discuss the “prime minister’s silence on the ongoing violence in Manipur”.
Ahead of the session, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said PM Modi has time to attend the meeting of the National Democratic Alliance but has no time to visit Manipur.