New Delhi: The Centre today said that it was ready for a discussion on the violence in Manipur during the monsoon session of Parliament – a subject the Opposition accuses it of dodging. At a meeting of the business advisory committee ahead of the monsoon session, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the government was ready to discuss all matters in parliament, including the 2-month-long violence in Manipur, in which more than 80 people have died.
The Congress earlier said discussion on issues like price rise and Manipur is "non-negotiable". The party has been seeking a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3.
"We call ourselves the mother of democracy, what sort of mother of democracy we have when the prime minister is not speaking, when he is not even attending (Parliament), when issues of public concern are not allowed to be raised, when issues of public concern are not being allowed to be raised, when remarks are being expunged," Congress's Jairam Ramesh was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.
The government, he added, must shun its "my way or the highway" approach and follow a middle path for smooth functioning of Parliament.
Last week, Congress's Rahul Gandhi had slammed the Prime Minister when he was on a visit to France.
"Manipur burns. EU Parliament discusses India's internal matter. PM hasn't said a word on either! Meanwhile, Rafale gets him a ticket to the Bastille Day Parade," Mr Gandhi had tweeted.
"We can go to the moon but are unable or unwilling to deal with the basic issues our people face at home. An Indian version of the Nelson essay may read, The Moon and Manipur," Mr Ramesh had said at the time, citing the country's ambitious moon mission Chandrayaan.
Last week, after the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in India, with particular reference to the recent clashes in Manipur, the government said Manipur is a "internal matter. The European parliament's move reflects a "colonial mindset" and is "unacceptable", the foreign ministry had said.