Minister urges Opposition: Facing deadlock with the Opposition over the Manipur violence issue in the Parliament, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday (July 23) urged the parties “with folded hands” to join the debate inside the House and not “run away” from the discussion.
Thakur also urged the Opposition not to politicise the issue of atrocities against women in the northeastern state.
This comes after the Opposition parties have planned to carry out joint protests in the Parliament on Monday on the Manipur situation on which they have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the government has been insisting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on the issue and not the Prime Minister.
"Atrocities against women are painful, no matter which state the victims belong to. It is the responsibility of the state to curb such incidents," the minister said.
"We wish that there should be a good discussion on this in the House, where all political parties will participate. Nobody should run away from the debate. It is my request to the opposition with folded hands, do not run away from the discussion," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added.
Govt keen on having discussion
The Minister said that the government is keen on having a discussion on the issue of women which are prevalent in states such as Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, and Manipur.
"The opposition does all this to remain in discussion, but it does nothing to join the discussion," Thakur said when asked about the protests on the Manipur issue.
The Monsoon session of Parliament began on July 20 and has witnessed disruptions over the ethnic violence in Manipur, particularly over a video purportedly shot on May 4 depicting atrocities against women in the state.
The video surfaced last week.
(With PTI inputs)
ALSO READ | India's Opposition unity: A fragile alliance facing internal struggles
ALSO READ | Opposition alliance 'INDIA' Mumbai meeting likely after August 15
