Manipur Situation Archives - Lokmarg

Delhi Services Bill To Be Introduced In LS, Could Trigger Fresh Fireworks

By LokMarg 1st August 2023

Amid the continuing logjam in both Houses over the Manipur situation, the Parliament will reconvene on Tuesday with the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, over control of services in the national capital, likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the Ordinance brought by the Centre in May, excluding certain services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly.
According to the Lok Sabha legislative business notification, the Bill on the Delhi services is listed for introduction in the Lower House on Tuesday.

The Union Home Minister will move for leave to introduce a Bill to amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991, while also tabling the draft of the Bill for the consideration of the House.

Union Minister of State (Home) Nityanand Rai will also table an explanatory statement (Hindi and English versions) showing reasons for immediate legislation by the promulgation of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023.

Ahead of its introduction in the House, certain key changes have been made to the Bill.

The Bill is expected to see fresh fireworks from the Opposition in the Lower House, amid the ongoing impasse over the Manipur situation.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had personally called on top Opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) stalwart Sharad Pawar, in a bid to solicit their support for the Centre’s Ordinance on the control of services in the national capital.

Opposition members from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), including the Congress, have already cleared their stand over the Bill, saying they would oppose it as it will destroy the federal structure of governance.

Meanwhile, six bills are to be tabled in Rajya Sabha as per the listing of the legislative business in the House.

Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal is to introduce the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha today to amend the Advocates Act, 1961.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will introduce the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha to provide for press, registration of periodicals.

Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal is to move the Mediation Bill, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha today for its consideration and passage to promote and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, for the resolution of disputes, commercial or otherwise, enforce mediated settlement agreements, provide for a body for the registration of mediators, to encourage community mediation and to make online mediation as an acceptable and cost-effective process.

Amit Shah will also move the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha today for its consideration and passage to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment, Bhupendra Yadav, will move the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha for its consideration and passage to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The Bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha.

Yadav will also move the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha for its consideration and passage to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Aam Aami Party MP Raghav Chadha filed a suspension of business notice in Parliament to discuss the “breakdown of law and order in the state of Manipur”.

“I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for suspension of business listed for August 1, 2023, that this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other business of the day to discuss the violence in Manipur which has resulted in loss of precious lives in Manipur due to failure and incompetence of Central & State Government,” read the notice filed by Chadha.

Since the start of the Monsoon Session on July 20, both Houses of Parliament have seen repeated disruptions and adjournments over the Manipur issue, with the combined Opposition adamant on a debate and statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Opposition brought a no-confidence motion last week in a bid to compel PM Modi to speak on the Manipur issue in the Parliament. (ANI)

Manipur Video: CBI Registers Case, Launches Probe

By LokMarg 29th July 2023

The CBI on Saturday registered a case in connection with Manipur viral video where two women were purportedly seen being paraded naked.

The video, which surfaced on social media and triggered a war of words between the BJP-led Centre and the Opposition, over the Manipur situation was from May 4, the day after ethnic clashes broke out in the Northeast state.
“The CBI has registered an FIR in the matter. More details are awaited,” a CBI officer said.

According to sources, a SIT had been formed earlier under the supervision of senior level officer to investigate the case while officials of the CBI, who are currently in Manipur, will investigate other cases including the one pertaining to the viral video.

LS,RS Face Adjournments

“The CBI team will question the arrested accused. The process of handing over the evidence is already underway by the local police,” a source told ANI.

On Thursday the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) referred the case to the CBI and within 48 hours a case was registered by the agency.

Manipur Police arrested six accused after the video went viral.

According to sources, the mobile phone from which the viral video was shot has been recovered and the person who shot it has also been arrested.

The violence in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3 to protest against the high court order, asking the state government to consider adding the Meitei community to the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Meanwhile, a delegation of 20 members from opposition political parties reached Manipur on Saturday.

The members will meet people affected by violence during their two-day visit to the state.

With the Opposition vocal on the Manipur issue, seeking a discussion in both Houses and demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament has seen repeated disruptions and little business. (ANI)

BJP Confident Of Defeating No Trust Motion: Minister

By LokMarg 28th July 2023

Amid the clamour from the Opposition for a debate on the vote of no confidence filed against the Centre in the Lok Sabha over the Manipur situation, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the government was confident it had numbers to sail through a no-confidence vote, should it happen.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the seventh day of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament on Friday, the Union Minister said, “They (Opposition) do not take part in discussions and neither cooperate in ensuring passage of Bills in Parliament. We were ready to take constructive suggestions from them, but they brought a no-confidence motion all of a sudden. We will have discussions on the no-confidence motion as and when required. We are not too worried as we have the numbers (to survive the vote of no confidence).”
Joshi also said there is no better floor than Parliament to discuss the prevailing situation in Manipur.

“If they want the truth (regarding Manipur) to come out, there is no better floor than this (Parliament) for a discussion and debate,” he added.

Members of the grand Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A, have been adamant on the demand that all listed businesses in both Houses be aside for a discussion on the Manipur situation.

They have also been insisting on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the prevailing state of affairs in the Northeast state.

The Opposition members are also pushing for the demand that the Lok Sabha Speaker set a date for voting on the no-confidence motion against the Centre filed earlier.

The motion, on behalf of the Opposition alliance, was tabled earlier by Congress Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi.

Further, Opposition parties on Friday alleged that the government was “subverting” parliamentary traditions by passing Bills even after the motion of no confidence was accepted by the Speaker at the Lok Sabha.

Borrowing the words of former Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Congress MP Manish Tiwari said, “On July 26, 1966, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, the then Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, made a significant statement in the Lok Sabha regarding No-Confidence Motion. He said, ‘I do concede that whenever there is a no-confidence motion, no substantive motion should he brought just to forestall the whole thing’.”

“These are the Parliamentary traditions that are being subverted by passing bill after bill at a time when a no-confidence motion has been submitted and allowed,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, also demanded an immediate discussion on the no-confidence motion.

“We have moved a no-confidence motion under Rule 198. As per this rule, a discussion on the motion should happen immediately,” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also objected to the tabling and passing of the Bills in both Houses, saying, “no Bill is introduced in Parliament after a no-confidence motion is accepted by the Lok Sabha Speaker”.

“But we are seeing that several Bills are being introduced and passed in Parliament,” he told ANI.

AAP’s Raghav Chadha urged the Speaker to ensure that no legislative business takes place in the Lower House till the no-confidence motion is debated.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, as reported by Joint Committee, was passed in Lok Sabha on Thursday after the House resumed at 3 pm amid sloganeering by the Opposition members over Manipur. (ANI)

Manipur Situation: Troops Continue Combing Operation In State

By LokMarg 8th June 2023

Security Forces conducted Joint Combing Operations for the second consecutive day in the Hills and Valley Sector of Manipur on Thursday, an official statement said.

Operations were conducted by adopting a people-friendly approach including announcements for voluntarily surrendering of illegal arms prior to search of specific areas.

The presence of magistrates along with the columns is being ensured during search operations in non-AFSPA areas. Today 35 weapons (all types), ammunition and warlike stores were recovered, the statement added.

Domination of NH 37 to ensure incident-free movement of essential goods to and from Manipur was carried out as part of the ongoing combing operations.

Sustained confidence-building measures, a people-centric approach and initiating measures to alleviate the hardships are the lines on which Security Forces are relentlessly working to ensure the de-escalation of tensions and an early return to normalcy, the statement further said.

During the conduct of combing operations, adequate measures are being undertaken to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to the local population.

On Wednesday, security forces seized automatic weapons and recovered warlike stores during a joint combing operation in sensitive areas both in the Hills and Valley sectors following violence in the state.

“29 weapons (mostly automatic), mortar, hand grenades, ammunition and warlike stores were recovered by security forces during joint combing operations in Manipur on June 7,” Spear Corps of the Indian Army said in a tweet.

Security forces deployed in the troubled state launched a joint operation on Wednesday to comb out weapons and ammunition hidden away by miscreants.

“Operations were conducted across Manipur in both Valley and Hill areas under the cover of UAV and Quadcopters,” it further said in another tweet.

Notably, during home minister Amit Shah’s recent visit to Manipur, he appealed to the public to hand over all weapons and ammunition to the administration for maintaining peace and order.

The appeal came with a warning about a ‘search-and-combing operation’ plan, which also mentioned that anyone found to possess weapons during the operation would be prosecuted.

Earlier in the day, advisor (Security) to the Manipur government Kuldeep Singh said that a total of 868 arms and 11,518 pieces of ammunition have been recovered to date from different areas in violence-hit Manipur.

He also said a total of 57 arms, 318 ammunition, and 5 bombs were also seized by the authorities in the last 24 hours.

The recoveries of arms and ammunition were made from Porompat Police Station in Imphal East and Sugnu police station in the Kakching districts of Manipur.

Singh said curfew has been relaxed for 12 hours in five valley districts and for 10 hours and 8 hours in neighbouring hill districts of Manipur.

“There is no curfew in six other hill districts. Movement of essential items along NH-37 is ensured. 244 empty vehicles have left Imphal for Jiribam today. A total of 212 loaded vehicles have left Noney and 212 loaded tankers and trucks left Jiribam today,” said Singh, who was appointed the security advisor to the Manipur government at the beginning of May in view of the spiralling violence in Manipur.

“The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2023 for entrance to MBBS/BDS Course was conducted yesterday (June 6, 2023) at 22 centres (12 in Imphal West and 10 in Imphal East),” former Central Reserve Police Force chief said, adding, the examination was conducted in a peaceful manner and the attendance was normal.”

He further mentioned that ministers and MLAs of the state are visiting different areas in Manipur and appealing for peace. (ANI)