Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned till 12 noon amid protests over Manipur issue

As the opposition members did not pay any heed to Birla's appeal, he adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon.

New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were on Friday adjourned till 12 noon following protests by opposition members demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur issue.

As soon as the House met, opposition members came to the well of the House seeking a statement from the prime minister on the Manipur issue. They also demanded a debate.

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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told opposition members that there are important bills listed for Friday’s business like that on Thursday.

On Thursday, when the House had taken up the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023 for discussion, most of the opposition members had participated in it.

“Not only yesterday’s bill, even today’s bills are equally important. We are ready for even private members’ bills today. Please take part in the proceedings,” he said.

As the opposition MPs ignored the pleas and continued their protests, Speaker Om Birla allowed the members to ask questions related to different ministries as per the schedule.

Despite the protests, the proceedings continued for about 20 minutes after which the speaker appealed to the protesting members to go back to their seats and take part in the proceedings.

“Question Hour is important. The House has taken up the farmers’ issue today but you are not interested to take part in it. I will given enough opportunity to all of you on any issue that you would like to raise,” he said.

As the opposition members did not pay any heed to Birla’s appeal, he adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon.

The Delhi bill was related to handling of senior officers of the city government. Delhi’s AAP government has vehemently opposed the bill.

Most of the opposition parties had supported the AAP in its opposition to the bill and took part in the debate on Thursday before staging a walk out when it was getting passed through voice vote.

The Manipur violence has rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament ever since the Monsoon session began on July 20, with the opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Modi and a discussion on the situation in the northeastern state.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the government was ready for a debate on the Manipur issue.

The speaker also had said that the opposition can’t decide who would reply, on behalf of the government, to the debate. The opposition subsequently moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government.

The session started a day after a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4 in a Manipur village went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage.