Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday wrote a letter to Opposition leaders of both Houses – Adhir Chowdhury of Lok Sabha, and Mallikarjun Kharge of Rajya Sabha – seeking their cooperation to discuss Manipur issue in Parliament. Speaking in Lok Sabha today, Shah informed that he has written to leaders of opposition in both Houses that the government is ready for discussion on the Manipur issue for as long as they want.
“Today, I wrote to the opposition leaders of both houses, Shri @adhirrcinc Ji of Lok Sabha, and Shri @kharge Ji of Rajya Sabha, appealing to them for their invaluable cooperation in the discussion of the Manipur issue. The government is ready to discuss the issue of Manipur and seeks cooperation from all the parties, rising above party lines. I hope that all the parties will cooperate in resolving this important issue,” Shah tweeted.
Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament remain disrupted ever since the Monsoon session began on July 20 with the opposition parties demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence before a discussion.
Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha Speaker Birla convened an all-party meeting of floor leaders, in a bid to end the impasse but the government and the Opposition stuck to their respective stands. The Opposition floor leaders insisted on a statement by the PM while the government said the Home Minister would reply to the debate on Manipur violence. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said Opposition party leaders were told that the government is ready for discussion on Manipur and can be held any day the Speaker decides.
The Opposition has tried to corner the government on the Manipur violence after a video of a May 4 incident appeared recently showing two women stripped and paraded naked by a mob.