Demand for discussion on Manipur creates ruckus in Parliament; Cinematograph Amendment Bill passed in Lok Sabha

Demand for an immediate discussion on Manipur ethnic violence rocked Parliament for another day on Monday with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha witnessing vociferous protests from I.N.D.I.A parties and other Opposition.

While in Lok Sabha, the government managed to pass the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill – the ninth Bill to be passed amid din in the Lower House, no substantive business could be taken up in Rajya Sabha, which saw frequent adjournments.

Sixty-five MPs had given notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha to suspend business and immediately discuss the Manipur issue but Leader of House Piyush Goyal told the House that the government was willing to take it up as 'short duration discussion' under Rule 176 at 2 PM.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar then asked whether he should read out the names of MPs who had submitted notices, which was objected by the ruling BJP MPs.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said I.N.D.I.A parties stuck to their position. "The I.N.D.I.A parties want this under Rule 267 which means given the seriousness of the issue being raised all other business of the House gets suspended till the debate is over. It is not the I.N.D.I.A parties that are running away from a debate on Manipur. It is actually the Prime Minister who is running away from giving a statement in the Rajya Sabha," he tweeted.

Also Read | Opposition MPs brief I.N.D.I.A bloc parties on Manipur situation

INDIA की सभी पार्टियां आज दोपहर राज्यसभा में अपने रुख पर अड़ी रहीं।

1. पिछले 90 दिनों में मणिपुर में जो कुछ हुआ है, उस पर प्रधानमंत्री को सदन में एक विस्तृत बयान देना चाहिए। उन्होंने पूरी तरह से इस मामले पर चुप्पी साध रखी है।

2. इसके बाद बहस और चर्चा होनी चाहिए।

INDIA की सभी…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 31, 2023

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brien told reporters they do not want a "two minute maggie noodles debate" but a proper discussion under Rule 267.

"Nehru came and spoke in Rajya Sabha on serious subjects and participated in debate. AB Vajpayee came and discussed in Rajya Sabha. Manmohan Singh also participated and even Rajiv Gandhi came and discussed Bofors in Rajya Sabha. We do not want a two-hour discussion on Manipur. We want a full-fledged discussion under an emergency rule," he said.

A senior Union Minister said that it would not matter much whether discussions are held under Rule 176 or Rule 267. “Neither have the provisions for voting, so why insist on one or the other when we are ready for a discussion. When we were in the Opposition, we would call for a discussion under Rule 193 which called for voting,” the union minister said.

On their part, Opposition leaders said they can drop the insistence on Rules if the Prime Minister speaks. “We are dropping the demand to have a discussion on Rule 267, our only demand is that the prime minister speaks; a statement on the floor of the House would have sufficed,” the leader said.

He also said that running Parliamentary business while a no-confidence motion has been allowed, is not constitutionally sound. “Since 1952, there have been 27 no-confidence motions and after they were allowed, only 2 Bills were passed. After the last no-confidence motion was passed, 8 bills have been passed. This is constitutionally unsound,” the leader added.

In the House, Goyal alleged that the MPs were misusing the Parliament and the liberty given to MPs to raise issues by giving large numbers of notices, which attracted opposition from I.N.D.I.A MPs, who insisted that the debate should start immediately after the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was called to speak but BJP MPs chanted "No LoP". In the din, Kharge said, "Manipur is burning...Where is the Prime Minister? We want the discussion under Rule 267." As the din continued, Dhankhar adjourned the House first till 12 noon and later to 2 PM.

Similar scenes repeated in the post-lunch session as Dhankhar said the government had agreed to a short-duration discussion and called Birendra Prasad Baishya (AJP) to initiate it but had to adjourn it for a brief period before calling a meeting of floor leaders in his office. The House was adjourned for the day later.