Speaker Om Birla convened an all-party meeting of floor leaders on Tuesday in a bid to resolve the ongoing deadlock in Lok Sabha over the debate on violence in Manipur. Despite the efforts, both the government and opposition have stuck to their respective stands.
Opposition floor leaders continued to insist on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the violence in Manipur. The government responded by stating that Home Minister Amit Shah would be the one to address the issue in the debate, said Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal, speaking to reporters after the meeting.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi reiterated that the government is ready for a discussion on the situation in Manipur and that such a debate could be held on any day the Speaker decides. “We have several important bills that we don’t want to pass without discussion. We seek a constructive dialogue and request the opposition’s participation,” Joshi told reporters.
However, Meghwal claimed that the opposition was continuously shifting their demands, initially wanting a discussion on Manipur, then requiring the Prime Minister to initiate the discussion, and now questioning why the Prime Minister spoke on the Manipur issue before coming to Parliament.
