New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal instigated party MPs to block Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge from asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak in the House about the violence in Manipur.
In a tweet, Ramesh, who is also Congress general secretary communication in charge said, “BJP continues to cross all limits of decency and decorum in Parliament. Today morning no less than the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal actively instigated BJP MPs, who then obstructed Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge-ji from speaking in the Rajya Sabha to raise INDIA’s demands for Prime Minister’s statement on Manipur and for a discussion on it thereafter.”
His comments came after Goyal said in the Upper House that people who wear black can't understand the growth of a country and its reputation across the globe.
“The past of these people was black and their future is also black. I hope their lives are enlightened,” Goyal added.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed adjournments after uproar over the Opposition MPs demanding for a detailed discussion on Manipur and a statement by the Prime Minister in the House.
Meanwhile, Kharge told media outside of the Parliament that the Prime Minister was running away from giving a statement on the Manipur issue.
He said, “People of this country are aware of the political scenario in this country and they will fight against injustice. The Prime Minister is running away from making any statement in the Parliament, which is the temple of democracy and giving political statements in Rajasthan by opening the medical college.”
The suspended AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accompanied the Opposition MPs in a protest outside Parliament, where they staged a protest and raised slogans against the government outside Parliament.
The opposition's demand for a detailed discussion on the violence in Manipur, where ethnic hostilities began on May 3, has caused disruptions in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session.
Hundreds of people have died and thousands have been forced to take refuge in the relief camps in Manipur.—Inputs from Agencies