“I.N.D.I.A parties staged walkout as PM evades important issues”: Congress MP Gogoi

New Delhi [India], August 10 : Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Thursday said that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply to the motion of no confidence as the PM was ‘running away’ from his responsibility towards Manipur.
The Congress leader further said the entire opposition decided to walk out, as the Prime Minister failed to speak on Manipur, wrestlers’ harassment, Chinese intrusions, national security and inflation.
"This no-confidence motion was presented by me in the Lok Sabha as a member of I.N.D.I.A. alliance...After struggling for so many days, after so many difficulties, finally today the country is seeing PM Modi speaking in the Parliament...PM Modi is running away from his responsibility,” Gogoi said while briefing reporters outside the Parliament House.
He further said the PM did not answer the three questions posed by the Congress leader on Tuesday and asked why PM Modi is so ‘adamant’ about not visiting Manipur.
“There were three clear questions in front of him...Why is PM Modi so adamant about not visiting Manipur?... Why the Chief Minister of Manipur has not been expelled?... Why was silence maintained on Manipur for so many days?... Why was there no appeal for peace? The discussion is going on for the last two hours but we could not see justice for Manipur...," Gogoi said.
Gogoi also said that the PM still did not do justice to Manipur even after three months of violence there.
“The Prime Minister has failed on all the three questions he had posed to him while presenting the Motion of No Confidence. The Prime Minister continues to remain stubborn in not visiting Manipur; he did not address the Manipur issue and he has not sacked the Chief Minister under whose regime people have been killed, rendered homeless and weapons looted,” the Congress leader said.
Gogoi, on Tuesday, while initiating the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha asked three questions to the PM—“why he didn’t visit Manipur, why he didn’t make any statement on Manipur and why he did not sack the Manipur Chief Minister.”
“Manipur did not get justice today. Rather, it was injustice with Manipur, as two Manipur MPs, both belonging to the BJP including one minister, were not allowed to speak during the debate brought to highlight Manipur issue,” Gogoi added.
As the Prime Minister was taking on the Opposition on several issues, the members of I.N.D.I.A bloc staged a walkout from the House, literally making the Opposition benches empty.
However, the no-confidence motion was defeated in the Lok Sabha.
The NDA defeated the no-confidence motion comfortably with a voice vote in the Lok Sabha.
The opposition moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government on July 26 which was taken up by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The three days of the motion witnessed a fierce battle between the ruling and the Opposition coalitions over the Manipur violence and other raging issues.