Lok Sabha adjourned till Monday after Opposition uproar over Manipur issue

A massive ruckus broke out in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the second day of the monsoon session on Friday after opposition parties demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the pressing issue surrounding Manipur. Amid the chaos, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Monday while the Rajya Sabha till 2.30 pm on Friday as the opposition in both houses continued to raise slogans criticizing the government over the Manipur issue.

A solution can only be found through discussions, but you simply do not want any discussion,” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said. While the Speaker continued to urge the protesting members to return to their seats and allow the House to function, the protest did not stop leading to the adjournment of the House for the day.

Outrage has been sparked by a disgusting video in which two women from a tribal community in Manipur are shown naked. The video recently went viral almost three months after the incident. Opposition parties are demanding a discussion as well as an "elaborate" statement from Prime Minister Modi on the issue.

In the Lok Sabha, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi asked opposition members not to disrupt the proceedings, reiterating that the government was willing to discuss the sensitive situation in Manipur, as confirmed by Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in the morning.

Singh, speaking on behalf of the Union government, reiterated his demand to discuss Manipur. But he said opposition parties "are not serious" and that selective political parties are creating a tense situation that prevents discussion.

“It seems that some political parties are creating a tense situation in Parliament and banning the discussion on Manipur. The opposition is not as serious about the Manipur issue as it should be. I reiterate that there should be a discussion on Manipur and I also want the opposition to take it more seriously,” Singh said.

While the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Monday, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2.30 pm on Friday as here too the opposition raised the issue in Manipur. Trinamool Congress and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien said that a discussion on the situation in Manipur should be initiated under Article 267 and that the Prime Minister must break the silence in the House on the matter.

“Yesterday you did not make any statement in Parliament. If you were angry then, instead of making a false equivalence with the states under Congress, you could have removed your Chief Minister of Manipur first,” he further wrote.