As the continued chaos over the Manipur situation saw a washout in both Houses on the second day of the Monsoon Session, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Friday hit out at the Opposition members, accusing them of disrupting parliamentary proceedings.
In a veiled dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified from the Lok Sabha earlier this earlier following his conviction by a Surat court in connection with the defamation case over the surname 'Modi', Mr Thakur, speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, said the Opposition members were disrupting the Parliament as their leader was no longer a part of the House.
“If you look at the pattern in the last few Parliament sessions, the Opposition has, on some excuse or the other, has ensured that no fruitful debates or discussions take place in either Houses. Some people, who are no longer a member of Parliament, are trying to stall parliamentary proceedings. Why is the Opposition running away from a discussion (on Manipur)? Is it because their leader (Rahul Gandhi) is no more a member, or is it because the discussion will unearth the misdeeds of the past governments.”
Mr Thakur said the PM has already issued a statement on the Manipur viral video, assuring that the perpetrators won't be spared.
Opposition members have been up in arms in both Houses of Parliament after a video, purportedly showing two women being paraded in the nude, went viral on social media.
Speaking to media persons before the Parliament went into session on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his heart was filled with sorrow and anger over the incident in Manipur. "What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven," PM Modi said.
Meanwhile, the two sessions of ongoing Monsoon Session were disrupted over the demand for a discussion on Manipur violence in both Houses of the Parliament.
Amid the din from the Opposition benches on the demand for discussion on the Manipur violence, Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday assured all members in the Lok Sabha that the Centre was ready and willing to discuss all issues with regard to law and order in the Northeast state.
Speaking about Opposition alliance's new name ‘I-N-D-I-A', Miniter Thakur said,” Just by changing your attire (chola) your deeds and past doesn't change. UPA is so disreputable (badnaam) so what option do they have. If you see most of the UPA leaders have serious corruption charges on their name and most of them are on bail. So they thought why not change the name.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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