Amid logjam over Manipur, BJP parliamentary party meeting to chalk out strategy for Monsoon Session begins

A parliamentary party meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to chalk out the strategy for the Monsoon Session of the Lok Sabha is currently underway in the national capital.

#WATCH | BJP Parliamentary party meeting is underway at Parliament. pic.twitter.com/BJk69aVdxj

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishanaw among others were seen arriving for the meeting that began at 9:30 am.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Parliament for the BJP Parliamentary party meeting. The meeting is underway.

(Earlier visuals) pic.twitter.com/rqNlhLUeUq

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023

The meeting had been convened to discuss crucial organisational matters with the party MPs.

According to an NDTV report, citing sources, the government is not expecting the Opposition to back down from its demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak in Parliament on the Manipur issue. On its part, the government is firm on its refusal, assuming that the Opposition’s demand is powered by electoral compulsions.

This is why the government will now insist on settling its legislative work, sources said. If a bill has to be passed amid uproar, it will be done, added the report.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned on Monday amid uproar with the Opposition demanding a statement by PM Modi on the Manipur issue.

The first two days of the Monsoon Session last week saw a similar ruckus leading to nearly zero functioning of Parliament.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) is also underway at the office of Congress national president and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge to chalk out a floor management strategy before the Upper House goes into session.

#WATCH | Meeting of like-minded Opposition floor leaders underway at the Rajya Sabha LoP chamber in Parliament to discuss the strategy for the floor of the House. pic.twitter.com/cnfIt8XJRr

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023

Sources said I.N.D.I.A alliance parties discussed a proposal to move a no-confidence motion against the government.

The Monsoon Session, which began on 20 July, with a long list of legislative businesses on the agenda, has seen repeated adjournments in the face of Opposition protests, sloganeering, and ruckus by members of the fledgling grand Opposition alliance over its demand for a statement from PM Modi on the Manipur situation.

On Monday, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Tuesday after Union Home Minister Amit Shah faced constant disturbance and heckling from the Opposition benches even as he insisted that the Centre was ready for a discussion on Manipur.

Meanwhile, the Upper House, too, witnessed stormy scenes after Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh was suspended for the entire session for “repeatedly violating” the Chair’s directives.

The Chairman first named Singh for interrupting the proceedings of the House when it had taken up the Question Hour amid protests by the Opposition over its demand for a statement from Prime Minister on the Manipur violence and a detailed discussion on the issue.

However, following the AAP senior leader’s suspension, the Opposition parties sat on a night-long protest on Parliament premises. Amid persistent disruptions from the Opposition, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said no country or system could flourish or blossom without discipline or decorum, adding that the moment discipline and decorum are compromised, institutions suffer.

Addressing a group of Indian Forest Service probationers at Parliament House on Monday, he said, “As Chairman of Rajya Sabha, I am working in a manner, using everything under my command to ensure the temple of democracy, in the largest democracy, has decorum and discipline.”

Earlier, Union Minister Rajnath Singh had a telephone conversation with senior Opposition leaders over the repeated disruptions over their demand for a discussion on the Manipur situation, urging them to ensure smooth functioning of the Parliament.

BJP sources said the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among the leaders the Defence Minister reached out to end the logjam in Parliament.

With inputs from agencies