Opposition leaders protest outside Parliament over Sanjay Singh's suspension

A few opposition leaders held a protest outside the Parliament against the suspension of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Sanjay Singh from Rajya Sabha for the rest of the monsoon session and their demand from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open a debate on Manipur in the House. Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said, “The protest was on as leaders of the I.N.D.I.A. took turns with a team sitting through the night near the Gandhi statue.”

Expressing his thoughts on Twitter, he tweeted 'We MPs from across parties of Team INDIA took turns to sit together in solidarity with @AamAadmiParty MP @SanjayAzadSln throughout the night after he was unfairly suspended merely for asking PM Modi to discuss Manipur in Parliament. We all stand united in ensuring justice for Manipur & we will keep demanding that PM Modi feels an iota of shame & speaks up about the carnage happening under his party’s govt in Manipur.’

Sanjay Singh was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of the Monsoon session for repeatedly 'violating' the directives of the Chair. Singh's suspension came after Leader of the House Piyush Goyal moved a motion in this regard and it was adopted by the House by voice vote. The AAP MP said, “Our only demand is that PM Modi should speak on the Manipur issue. We will keep protesting here and I am still requesting PM Modi to come to the Parliament and talk on Manipur.”

Singh asserted that he repeatedly requested the Chair (Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar) for discussion on Manipur violence and demanded that the Prime Minister come to the House and give a reply. “When the Chair didn’t listen to me, I went closer to the Chair to request him to allow me to speak under Rule 267 for which I had given notice. I am ready for a discussion in the House. I do not know why the Opposition does not want to allow a discussion. It is my appeal to the Opposition leaders to have a discussion on this important issue and let the truth on the matter prevail before the nation. It is very important,”

There was a huge uproar in the Parliament and opposition members protested over PM Modi's silence over the Manipur issue. Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave a brief statement in the Lok Sabha. He stated that he was prepared for a debate on the violence in Manipur and urged Opposition leaders to allow a discussion on the issue.

There is a lot of tension going on in Manipur ever since the May 4 video went viral which showed two women from one of the warring communities in the northeastern state being paraded naked by a mob of men. The Manipur police have arrested seven people in connection with the incident so far.