20 member INDIA delegation to visit Manipur on Saturday
Hussain said the delegation has also sought time from the Manipur Governor and will be meeting her on Sunday morning.
NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday said that a delegation of 20 Opposition MPs from 16 parties will visit the violence-hit Manipur to have on the spot assessment of the ground situation.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain said: “Opposition has decided to send one delegation to Manipur. In the INDIA party meeting, it has been decided that 20 MPs will visit Manipur and will visit the hilly region and valley region during their two-day visit and meet people. They will carry a message that we stand with them.”
He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of not allowing discussion in Parliament under relevant rules, 184 and 267 in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not spoken on Manipur violence inside the parliament despite Opposition’s continuous demand.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP said that the opposition’s decision to send MPs delegation there will send a message from the parliament to the affected people of Manipur that there is concern about their plight and the opposition MPs have come to meet them.
Hussain said the delegation has also sought time from the Manipur Governor and will be meeting her on Sunday morning.
“The members would like to discuss their findings in the parliament. But in case the discussion is not allowed inside the parliament, they will address a press conference either in Manipur or in Delhi,” he added.
The Congress leader also highlighted the violence, killings, rape and ethnic cleansing going on in Manipur and slammed the Prime Minister for having no time for the northeastern state but addressing the public meetings.
“The Prime Minister has all the time for visiting election bound states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and maligning opposition leaders, but he has no words for people of Manipur,” he said.
The 20 member MPs delegation from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, will include Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Gaurav Gogoi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Sushmita Dev, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Sandosh Kumar, AA Rahim, Manoj Kumar Jha, Javed Ali Khan, Mahua Maji, PP Mohammed Faizal, Aneel Prasad Hegde, ET Mohammed Basheer, NK Premachandran, Sushil Gupta, Arvind Sawant, D Ravikumar, Thiru Thol Thirumavalavan, Jayant Singh and Phulo Devi Netam.