Parliament logjam likely to continue as BJP hardens its stand on Opposition demand on Manipur

New Delhi: The logjam in Parliament is likely to continue on Monday as the ruling BJP has hardened its stand over the Opposition’s demand for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a statement on Manipur in both the Houses as a precondition to allow any parliamentary debate on the matter.

BJP is also planning to stage a protest over the two tribal women in West Bengal’s Malda district being allegedly stripped naked and assaulted last week. With BJP also planning to protest on the alleged atrocities on women in Bengal and Rajasthan, it seems unlikely that the Parliament would function on Monday.

The Opposition has been up in arms after a video emerged on the eve of the monsoon session showing two women from the Kuki community being paraded naked by a mob of men in Manipur and has been demanding a statement from the PM in both the Houses.

The government has made it clear that since this matter comes under the purview of the home ministry, Union home minister Amit Shah can speak on this issue.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha amid sloganeering by the Opposition parties, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said the government is ready for a debate but the opposition was not serious about this sensitive issue.

After a meeting at Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s chamber, the Opposition parties plan to hold a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament on Monday over the Manipur issue.