Amid outrage over the violence against women in strife-torn Manipur and calls for a discussion on it in the Parliament, the Opposition MPs on Monday will hold a planned protest in the Parliament Complex to press for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a statement on the issue.
Since violence erupted in Manipur in early May, the Opposition has constantly criticised Modi for being silent. It was only this month that Modi spoke on the situation in Manipur after a video of two tribal women being paraded naked and being groped by a mob surfaced. The video led to widespread outrage and was condemned across party lines.
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The Parliament has since witnessed heated scenes and the Opposition has demanded that a discussion should be held on the issue in the Parliament.
While Modi did not speak on Manipur in the Parliament, he spoke on it ahead of the beginning of the Monsoon session. He said the incident was "shameful" and had put the entire country in shame.
He said, "Today, when I am standing by this temple of democracy my heart is full of pain and anger. The incident in Manipur that has come to light is shameful. This incident will put any civilised society to shame...The sinners and criminals, no matter who they are or how many there are, but the entire nation is disgraced. 140 crore people of the country are put to shame."
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Sources told PTI that leaders of various opposition parties who have now formed the INDIA alliance will meet in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and will discuss their further strategy in Parliament. This week, the 26 Opposition parties came together under the INDIA coalition to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
After the meeting at 10 AM on Monday, July 24, the leaders will hold a protest near the Gandhi statue before entering both houses, reported PTI.
The Centre has agreed to hold a short-duration discussion on the Manipur issue with the Home Minister replying to it, but the Opposition is adamant on its demand for Modi's statement first, reported PTI, adding that the Opposition wants a debate allowing all parties to speak without any time restrictions and has been holding protests on the issue since the Monsoon Session started on Thursday.
The Centre has accused the Opposition of running away from a debate on the all-important issue and has questioned their seriousness towards it, reported PTI.
So far, no business has been conducted in both the houses as sittings kept getting adjourned amid heated scenes.
