Deadlock persists in House as Manipur discussion stalls

The government on Monday sharpened its attack against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), accusing them of politicising the violence in Manipur and shifting the goal posts by stalling a discussion on the ethnic clashes, which have killed at least 150 people over nearly three months, in the Rajya Sabha.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran and Saubhadra Chatterji

The Opposition group stuck to its demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a detailed debate on the matter under Rule 267, which allows for the listed business to be suspended to take up a matter of urgency.

Later, in a meeting called by Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, the INDIA parties suggested that they were not insisting on Modi's participation during the lebate, but insisted that he table a statement in the House. The government's managers, however, pointed out how the Opposition created disruptions when the PM spoke in the Rajya Sabha the last time on the President's speech.

With both sides adamant on their respective stances, there was no let-up in the logjam in Parliament on Monday, which saw several adjournments in both the Houses. In Lok Sabha, INDIA leaders rushed to the well repeatedly with banners and raised slogans, forcing frequent adjournments.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at the Opposition, accusing it of "shedding crocodile tears" for the victims of violence in Manipur.

In a stinging attack on the Opposition that re black in protest over the violence, Sitharaman said their "mindset is as black as the clothes they wore". "For the last eight days, the Opposition had been demanding a discussion on Manipur. Now they are running away. Manipur is just a political issue for them. It is now clear they were just shedding crocodile tears on the Manipur issue," she said.