Violence in Manipur Causes Disruption in Indian Parliament

• Opposition demands debate, disrupts proceedings with slogans.
• Home Minister ready to discuss, opposition wants PM’s presence.
• Defence Minister engages with key opposition leaders.

Proceedings in both houses of the Indian parliament were disrupted and adjourned on Monday due to uproar over the violence in Manipur, a north-eastern state. The opposition members in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha demanded a debate on the issue, leading to shouting slogans and displaying placards, causing a stalemate. Home Minister Amit Shah expressed the government’s readiness for a discussion, but the opposition in Lok Sabha insisted on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence.

To resolve the situation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh engaged in discussions with key opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s T. R. Baalu. In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar suspended Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh for the remainder of the session due to “repeated violations.”

The situation in Manipur has been tense since May, with an ethnic conflict between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and the mainly Christian Kuki tribes resulting in at least 120 fatalities. Recently, a disturbing video emerged showing two Kuki women being forced to strip naked and subjected to harassment by Meitei men. The incident drew condemnation from the United States, with the State Department expressing concern and calling it “brutal” and “terrible.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly addressed the Manipur clashes for the first time since they began in May, condemning the assault as “shameful” and vowing to take tough action. Chief Justice of India’s Supreme Court, DY Chandrachud, also spoke out against the abuse in the video, deeming it “simply unacceptable” and warning that if the government doesn’t act, the judiciary will intervene.

The United States urged for a peaceful and inclusive resolution to the violence in Manipur and called on authorities to address humanitarian needs while ensuring the protection of all groups, homes, and places of worship.

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