As the logjam in Parliament persisted for the third day, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked the Opposition to allow a debate on the Manipur issue to begin but both sides stood rigid on their stand while AAP MP Sanjay Sanjay Singh was suspended during uproar in the Upper House for the rest of the monsoon session.
Relentless protests from opposition members, who insisted on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi before any debate, marred the proceedings in both Houses while charges and countercharges flew thick and fast outside Parliament.
The Congress alleged that the Prime Minister was "scared" of a discussion in Parliament, but the BJP claimed the Opposition was running away as it does not want certain facts to come to the fore.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, one of the more vocal voices in Rajya Sabha, was suspended for repeatedly "violating" the directives of the Chair after he rushed to the well of the House and pointed at the Chair during protest by opposition members on the Manipur issue.
Moving a motion for Mr. Singh's suspension that was adopted by voice vote, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said such behaviour was not acceptable as the member was disturbing the House and was disregarding its ethics and rules. Prior to that, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar named Mr. Singh for his "unruly behaviour" and cautioned him.
Opposition parties condemned the action against Mr. Singh and accused the government of trying to throttle their voice.
Mr. Sanjay Singh, however, remained inside the Rajya Sabha chamber as a mark of protest and moved out after the house was adjourned for the day. He then sat on a protest before the Gandhi statue along with other opposition MPs.
Leaders of various parties urged the chairman to reconsider his decision and revoke the suspension.
The RS Chairman later met the Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and discussed the way forward to break the deadlock on both sides.
Protests ruled the day inside both Houses despite attempts by Dhankhar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to end the impasse. Since the session began on July 20, little work has been done in Parliament.
Opposition members have seized on the viral video of two women stripped and paraded by a mob from another community in the violence-hit State to corner the government.
While the government has expressed its willingness to a debate on the situation in the BJP-ruled State, the opposition has made a statement from Mr. Modi a precondition for any discussion on the issue.
As slogan-shouting by opposition members in Lok Sabha, many of whom were in the well of the House, continued, Mr. Shah spoke briefly, questioning their intent despite his willingness to debate.
The government has said that the Home Minister will reply to any such debate on the Manipur issue.
"I am willing for discussion in Lok Sabha on the situation in Manipur but do not know why the opposition does not want it," Mr. Shah said.
He said opposition leaders should allow a debate, saying it was important for the truth to come out before the country on the Manipur issue.
As Opposition members continued their protest, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings for the day.
The MPs of the BJP as well as the Opposition staged protests near the Mahatma Gandhi statue to highlight their demands.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Union Minister Smriti Irani said, “When the Home Minister is asking them to come and discuss, what are the facts of Manipur violence that the Congress wants to hide.”
“What is it that the opposition doesn't want the country to know? Why is the opposition running away from the truth of Manipur?” she added.
Congress leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Gaurav Gogoi accused the BJP of "shielding" the prime minister from speaking inside Parliament and treating the Manipur crisis as an ordinary law-and-order issue.
"We want a substantive and exhaustive debate on Manipur in Parliament. The Prime Minister is running away from scrutiny by members of opposition parties and is scared of a debate on Manipur in Parliament," Mr. Gogoi told reporters.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Modi of insulting Parliament by choosing to speak on the Manipur issue not inside the House but outside.
Party leader Jairam Ramesh said parliament did not function for the third day because of the "continued refusal of the Modi Government to accept the demand of INDIA parties for a comprehensive statement by the Prime Minister in the House on the post-May 3rd situation in Manipur to be followed by a discussion".
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi earlier accused opposition members of deliberately scuttling a discussion on the sensitive issue. BJP members also raised the issue of attacks on women, including the victims being disrobed and raped, in States like West Bengal and Rajasthan to get back at Opposition parties.
"The opposition should not make excuses. The PM has already made a statement on Manipur with sensitivity and firmness ahead of the session. It is wrong that we don't start the discussion at all by making an excuse in the name of PM," Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said.
With the BJP parliamentary party holding its weekly meeting on Tuesday, its senior leaders, including PM Modi, may speak on the ongoing logjam.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP sources said, has spoken to opposition leaders, including Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress and DMK leader T. R. Baalu, in an attempt to break the impasse but in vain.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Dhankhar also held a meeting with opposition leaders from the Upper House, including Jairam Ramesh, BRS' K Keshava Rao, BJD's Sasmit Patra and AAP's Raghav Chadha, in this regard as well.
Sources said the meeting ended within minutes, as the opposition walked out and said they were "boycotting it".
The sources said the meeting was convened at 1 p.m., but the chairman said it will be reconvened as floor leaders of parties were not present and other leaders were.
In Lok Sabha, the government succeeded in transacting some legislative business amid uproar, with three Bills introduced and one withdrawn.
While the government withdrew the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, of 2019, it introduced the National Dental Commission Bill, of 2023, the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Earlier in the day, as soon as the Lower House met at 11 a.m., Opposition members from the Congress, DMK, Left parties and others were on their feet. Speaker Om Birla allowed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to speak and he raised the demand for the Prime Minister's statement.
The speaker said, "The government will reply... but you will not decide who will reply to the debate".
Defence Minister Singh, who is also the deputy leader of Lok Sabha, reiterated his statement made on Friday that the government is ready for a discussion.
The opposition members were holding placards that read "INDIA wants discussion on Manipur violence", "INDIA for Manipur" etc. INDIA is the name opposition parties have chosen for their alliance.
Earlier in Rajya Sabha, Mr. Dhankhar read out the names of the MPs and the political parties while detailing the 11 notices received under rule 176, mostly from treasury benches, seeking short-duration discussions over violence in States of Chhattisgarh Rajasthan, West Bengal, Telangana and Manipur.
Later, when he read out notices received under rule 267 from opposition MPs seeking suspension of other business and discussion on the Manipur issue, he did not mention the party affiliations.
Derek O'Brien (TMC) raised objections but the chairman said: "You are challenging the Chair," followed by an adjournment.
When the Upper House of Parliament reassembled at 3 p.m., Deputy Chairman Harivansh reminded Sanjay Singh to leave the House as he stood suspended.
As Opposition members continued to raise slogans against the government on the Manipur issue, he adjourned the House for the day.
