Logjam likely to persist over Manipur, suspension of AAP’s Sanjay Singh

NEW DELHI: After both Houses were adjourned on Monday, amid persistent uproar by Opposition members demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a detailed statement on the Manipur situation, similar scenes are likely as the Parliament reconvenes on the 4th day of the ongoing Monsoon Session, on Tuesday.

Significantly, the members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) will meet at the office of Congress national president and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out a floor management strategy before the Upper House goes into session.

The meeting of the floor leaders will be held at 10 am. Following the resumption of proceedings in the Rajya Sabha at 11 am on Tuesday, the 36th report by the government with regard to the action taken on the observations and recommendations contained in the 20th report (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on ‘Tidal Power Development in India', is scheduled to be tabled.

Also a copy (in English and Hindi) of the 22nd report of the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (Seventeenth Lok Sabha) on ‘India’s Neighbourhood First Policy’ will be tabled in the Upper House.

The Monsoon Session, which began on July 20, with a long list of legislative businesses on the agenda, has seen repeated adjournments in the face of Opposition protests, sloganeering, and ruckus by members of the fledgling grand Opposition alliance over its demand for a statement from PM Modi on the Manipur situation.

On Monday, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Tuesday after Union Home Minister Amit Shah faced constant disturbance and heckling from the Opposition benches even as he insisted that the Centre was ready for a discussion on Manipur.

Questioning the Opposition's intent, the Union Home Minister said, "On a very sensitive (Manipur viral video) issue, many members have demanded a discussion and I am ready for the discussion. I do not know why the Opposition doesn't want to allow a discussion."

"I request the Leader of the Opposition (in Lok Sabha) to let a discussion happen. It is very important that the truth comes out before the whole country," he added.

While Shah was speaking, some Opposition members held up placards inscribed with the message "INDIA stands with Manipur people".

Speaker Om Birla also urged the members of the Opposition parties to let the house function smoothly. However, amid constant slogan shouting from the Opposition members, the Speaker adjourned the House till 11 am on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Upper House, too, witnessed stormy scenes after Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh was suspended for the entire session for “repeatedly violating” the Chair’s directives.

The Chairman first named Singh for interrupting the proceedings of the House when it had taken up the Question Hour amid protests by the Opposition over its demand for a statement from Prime Minister on the Manipur violence and a detailed discussion on the issue.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader came near the Chairman’s podium over Opposition demands after the House resumed proceedings at 12 noon following its first adjournment earlier in the day. Dhankhar told him to resume his seat. As the AAP member kept protesting, the Chairman named him. Soon after the Chairman named Sanjay Singh, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved a motion urging the Chair to suspend the AAP member, saying this kind of behaviour “is completely against the ethics and rules of the House.”

Sanjay Singh should be suspended from the entire session of the House, he said. The Chairman put the motion for approval of the House saying Sanjay Singh was being suspended for the remainder of the monsoon session of Parliament "for having repeatedly violated the directives of the Chair".

However, following the AAP senior leader's suspension, the Opposition parties sat on a night-long protest on Parliament premises. Speaking to ANI, on Tuesday, Singh said, "We have been sitting here since yesterday. Our only demand is that PM Modi speak on the Manipur issue. We will keep protesting here and I still request PM Modi to come to the Parliament and speak up on Manipur."

Amid persistent disruptions from the Opposition, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said no country or system could flourish or blossom without discipline or decorum, adding that the moment discipline and decorum are compromised, institutions suffer.

Addressing a group of Indian Forest Service probationers at Parliament House on Monday, he said, "As Chairman of Rajya Sabha, I am working in a manner, using everything under my command to ensure the temple of democracy, in the largest democracy, has decorum and discipline.”

Calling for zero tolerance to lack of decorum and discipline in the House, he said, “To enforce decorum and discipline, sometimes we have to take recourse to unpalatable situations, but we must never hesitate because decorum and discipline are connected with our growth, reputation, and prosperity. The moment we take a lenient view, we do not serve well to society."

Earlier, Union Minister Rajnath Singh had a telephone conversation with senior Opposition leaders over the repeated disruptions over their demand for a discussion on the Manipur situation, urging them to ensure smooth functioning of the Parliament.

BJP sources said the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among the leaders the Defence Minister reached out to end the logjam in Parliament.