Lagatar24 Desk
Imphal, August 29: Within an hour after beginning, the Manipur Assembly’s one-day session was adjourned sine die after Congress MLAs created a ruckus and demanded that the session be prolonged to five days.
One day was deemed insufficient by the opposition MLAs, who were led by former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, to address the current condition of affairs in the ethnically divided state.
The House didn’t have any of the 10 Kuki MLAs present.
In remembrance of those killed in the ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kukis that started on May 3, the proceedings started at 11 a.m. with a two-minute silence.
In his speech, Chief Minister N Biren Singh remarked, “With great sorrow, we condole the deaths of those killed in the violence. In times like these, words seem inefficient for those who have lost their loved ones in the strife.”
The House made the decision that all disagreements should be settled peacefully and via conversation in order to promote communal harmony throughout the state.
The Manipur-born scientist N Raghu Singh, who served on the ISRO team that oversaw the project and was part of the Chandrayaan-3 expedition, was also commended by the House for the successful landing on the Moon.
Soon after, Congress MLAs began yelling from their seats, “stop mockery, let’s save democracy,” and they demanded that a five-day session be held to discuss the state of affairs.
The opposition MLAs refused to calm down when Speaker Th Satyabrata Singh asked them to, and he adjourned the House for 30 minutes.
The Speaker declared it impossible to continue the session amidst the commotion and adjourned the meeting sine die as the Congress MLAs continued to protest when the House reassembled.
Last month, the state government had suggested holding a session by August 21; however, after not receiving approval from the Raj Bhavan, it later changed its recommendation to August 28. The Chief Minister’s office announced last week that the assembly would restart from August 29.
