On Monday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had a conversation with senior opposition leaders over the phone to address the disruptions in Parliament over their demands related to the situation in Manipur and urged them to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament.
According to sources, the Union Minister contacted several leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay to end the logjam in Parliament.
Government sources also said that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal have been reaching out to the Opposition to end the disruptions in the Parliament’s monsoon session.
As the Opposition continues to protest over their demands, Singh, who is also Deputy Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha said that the government is ready for a discussion in Parliament. “We are ready for discussion in Parliament. Manipur incident is most definitely a very serious matter and sensing the gravity of the situation, the PM himself has said that what happened in the state has put the entire nation to shame,” he said. The Defence Minister also spoke about the government’s willingness for a dialogue over the Manipur situation in the House last week. Opposition parties have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament on the Manipur situation followed by a detailed discussion by adjourning all other listed business. Several opposition MPs gave adjournment notices for discussion on the Manipur issue on Monday. The Parliament has been facing continuous disruptions since the monsoon session of Parliament began on 20 July. On Monday, opposition leaders resorted to sloganeering and displayed placards in the Lok Sabha over their demands. They also sought to raise their demands in Rajya Sabha. The government has a heavy legislative agenda for the monsoon session of Parliament which is slated to conclude on 11 August.
