Jairam Ramesh seeks suspension of legislative business, demands PM Modi's statement on Manipur violence
Jul 31, 2023
New Delhi [India], July 31 : Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday demanded the suspension of all legislative business and early discussion and debate on Manipur violence in the Parliament.
"The INDIA parties stuck to their position in the Rajya Sabha this afternoon. 1. PM must make a statement in the House on what has happened in Manipur over the past 90 days on which he has maintained an eloquent silence," Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
"Thereafter there should be a debate and discussion. The INDIA parties want this under Rule 267 which means given the seriousness of the issue being raised all other business of the House gets suspended till the debate is over," he further said.
He further said that INDIA is not running away from a debate on Manipur but it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is running away from giving a statement in the Rajya Sabha.
"It is not the INDIA parties that are running away from a debate on Manipur. It is actually the PM who is running away from giving a statement in the Rajya Sabha," he tweeted.
Earlier today, Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Opposition MPs are scared of ‘something’ which is why they are running away from discussions in Parliament over the Manipur issue.
“We have clearly said to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Speaker that whenever he wants, we are ready to have discussions on Manipur. We are requesting the Opposition to have discussions for 10 days. The Opposition is scared of something; they are running away from discussions. I said inside Parliament that we should have discussions today at 2 pm,” Piyush Goyal said while addressing a press conference here.
The union minister on Monday urged Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to take up a discussion on the Manipur situation at 2 pm today.
Goyal made the remarks amid protests by opposition members over their demand for discussion under Rule 267 which also entails voting.
Opposition members have been seeking discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20.
While Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar permitted a discussion for a "short duration" to be taken up on the situation in Manipur, the Opposition objected to it and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament.
Parliament has not been able to function since the start of the Session on July 20, with the Opposition also demanding a statement by Prime Minister Modi in the House on the crisis.
The Opposition even brought a no-trust motion last week, in a bid to compel Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on the Manipur issue within the Parliament.
However, both Houses adjourned for the day amid sloganeering by Opposition MPs over the unrest in Manipur.
