Kharge, Goyal exchange barbs in Rajya Sabha over debate on Manipur

Leader of the House Piyush Goyal and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge exchanged barbs in the Rajya Sabha over the debate on Manipur on Tuesday, with Kharge demanding the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Goyal saying atrocities on women in opposition-ruled states will also be discussed in the House.
The opposition raised an uproar from the start of the Question Hour when the House met at noon, with members of the Congress and other like-minded parties raising slogans of “Manipur, Manipur”.  Kharge said over 50 members have given notices for discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267, but the government is not ready.
Goyal countered him by saying Union Home Minister Amit Shah is ready to have a discussion on issues related to atrocities against women in Rajasthan,  Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and West Bengal. “The Home Minister is ready for that. He would do ‘doodh ka doodh aur paani ka paani’ (differentiate between truth and lies),” he said.
Kharge also questioned the absence of PM Modi in the House. “When so many people want to talk about this, why are they not ready to talk? Why does Modi sahab not come here and explain the situation? Outside, he talks about the East India Company, but he is not ready to talk about Manipur in the House,» he said.
Goyal objected to Kharge›s remarks and accused the opposition of disturbing the House and not allowing discussions on such a sensitive issue. “This is pointless, and we are ready for discussion. We want to have a healthy debate and discussion on this,” he asserted.