Parliament remained in turmoil over Manipur on Tuesday, and without resolving the Opposition’s demands for a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and adjournment of business, passed a few Bills amidst disturbances.
Home Minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that he had written letters to leaders of the Opposition in both Houses of Parliament, expressing the government’s readiness to discuss the Manipur issue.
As the Opposition continued its roar of slogans and noises during the passage of the Multi State Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill, 2022, moved by him as Minister of Cooperation, the Home Minister said the Opposition could have a discussion, as lengthy as it wanted.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he had already admitted a short duration discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 176 and only a time was to be fixed for that.
As the Opposition continued with its conditions for an adjournment of business to discuss the Manipur violence and its different facets, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm within minutes of assembling for the day in the morning. As a result, the Question Hour was cut short.
In the afternoon sitting, after a meeting of leaders of all parties in his chamber by Speaker Om Birla to resolve the impasse, the House passed the Biological Diversity Amendment Bill, 2022.
Adjourning after that, the House took up the Multi State Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill, 2022 and passed it after the Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah explained its various features. The Opposition continued with its slogan shouting during the entire proceedings.
In the Rajya Sabha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAM) member Raghav Chadha tried to raise the issue of suspension of his party colleague Sanjay Singh, and wanted voting on it. The Chairman declined it and took up laying of official papers amidst Opposition slogan-shouting over Manipur.
The Chairman said that he had received 51 notices under Rule 267 for a discussion on Manipur. He rejected all of them. Mr Dhankhar said there were three notices for short duration discussions on injustices to women in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said the Government was ready for a discussion on the Rajasthan crimes against women. Mr P Chidambaram (Congress), former Finance Minister, said the Chairman had accepted that Rule 267 took precedence over Rule 176 and so the request for a discussion under Rule 267 be disposed of first.
As there was disturbance, the House was adjourned till 12 noon for Question Hour. When the Question Hour started, there was slogan-shouting by the Opposition for the Manipur discussion. The Opposition members from various parties stood up at their seats and did not enter the well of the House.
The Chairman told the members that the Question was the heart of the Parliamentary work when members could hold the government accountable and ask questions, resulting in transparency in governance.
When the Chairman made observations on Mr Chidambaram’s comments, the Congress members said the former Finance Minister was only praising the Chairman’s ruling on Rule 176 versus Rule 267. K Keshava Rao (BRS) supported the Congress and said Chidambaram was pleading and urging the Chairman to take up the request under Rule 267 first.
As the Opposition continued with its slogan shouting, the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said the incidents of injustices to women were equally important. The Home Minister will clarify the position on all issues, he said.
The House remained exercised over the Manipur issue and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said 50 people had given notices for a discussion. Mr Goyal said if the Opposition was serious about it, it should have been started by now. The House was then adjourned till 2 pm.
The House reassembled presided over by Deputy Chairman Harivansh and the Constitution Scheduled Tribes Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 was taken up on inclusion of some communities in Chhattisgarh in the list of Scheduled Tribes, for passage. Kharge said the Opposition supported the Bill and the House should up the Manipur issue. Almost the entire Opposition staged a walk-out after that.