The minister urged the opposition: Facing a standoff with the opposition in Parliament over the issue of Manipur violence, Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday (July 23) urged parties to join the debate inside the House with “folded hands” and “run away” from the discussion.
Thakur also urged the opposition not to politicize the issue of atrocities against women in the northeastern state.
This comes as opposition parties plan to hold a joint protest in Parliament on Monday over the situation in Manipur, on which they are demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, the government is insisting that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will speak on this issue and not the Prime Minister.
“Atrocities against women are painful, irrespective of the state the victims belong to. It is the responsibility of the state to curb such incidents,” the minister said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “We want a good discussion on this in the House, in which all political parties will participate. No one should run away from the debate. I request the opposition with folded hands not to run away from the discussion.”
Government keen to discuss
The minister said that the government is keen to discuss the issue of women prevalent in states like Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal and Manipur.
When asked about the protests on the Manipur issue, Thakur said, “The opposition does all this to remain in the discussion, but does nothing to engage in the discussion.”
The monsoon session of Parliament began on 20 July and saw disruptions over caste violence in Manipur, particularly over a video allegedly shot on 4 May that depicted atrocities against women in the state.
The video surfaced last week.
(with PTI inputs)
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