he first Assembly session in Manipur since the violence broke out in the state on May 3 lasted all of 11 minutes on Tuesday. There was no discussion on the clashes which have gripped the state for the last four months, but at the end of the Session, in an unprecedented move, a resolution calling for peace 'through dialogue and Constitutional means' was declared as passed by the House.
As expected, the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs of the 60-member Assembly were absent, having said earlier that they would be unable to travel to Imphal for security reasons. The remaining members, including the 10 Naga MLAs, were present.Manipur Congress chief and MLA K Meghachandra Singh questioned the resolution released by Legislative Assembly officials as having been adopted by the House. 'The resolution was not announced by the Speaker, there was no reading of it by the Speaker, and there was no discussion on it in the House,' Meghachandra said.The day-long session was the first after the ethnic clashes. (ANI) Among other things, the resolution stated: '… as peace is the priority of the state, this House will strive to resolve all the differences among the people, till complete peace returns to the entire state, through dialogue and Constitutional means.'The List of Business for the day issued by the Assembly Secretary was a spare one. It just had two points of business: an obituary reference in which the Speaker would move a resolution on the demise of five former legislators and an Assembly Secretary; and the presentation of a Business Advisory Committee Report by Chief Minister Biren Singh. Soon after the Session began at 11 am and Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata took his seat, Congress Legislature Party leader and former Manipur CM Okram Ibobi Singh began speaking in protest about how the Session had been convened. 'Is this mockery? Let us save democracy, let us save the Constitution,' he shouted. He also raised questions about the nature of the one-day-long Assembly session. A regular Session requires at least a 15-day prior notice by the Governor through summons, which was not issued in this case, and Ibobi asked how it was not convened then as a special or an emergency session.
'Is it emergency or short notice? We are confused. There is no rule of law in the land,' Ibobi added.
The other four Congress MLAs joined Ibobi in sloganeering, holding placards which read, 'Save Democracy, Save Constitution'.
Amid the protests, CM Biren Singh moved the obituary reference and proposed two minutes of silence. With the Congress not giving up, he made it clear that the state government did not intend to hold a discussion on the violence in the state.
The CM argued that this was because, under the rules of procedure, discussion on a matter that is sub-judice is not allowed in the House, and that as such, 'a separate discussion is not required'.
While Opposition members continued to protest, Biren Singh moved on to speak about the Chandrayaan-3 Moon mission, 'expressing gratitude' to scientists and the Prime Minister for the same. He also spoke about the participation of Dr Raghu Ningthoujam from Thanga in the state in the mission.
Finally, amidst the din by Congress MLAs, the Speaker adjourned the House for 30 minutes, after just 9 minutes of business.
When the House resumed, the Congress MLAs resumed their protest. This time, just two minutes into the Session, the Speaker adjourned the Assembly sine die.
The Congress had earlier demanded that there should be a minimum five-day Session, and that the crisis in Manipur should be on the agenda.
Following the adjournment of the Session, minister Govindas Konthoujam called the behaviour of the Congress MLAs 'unruly' and 'unconstitutional', and held them responsible for the absence of a discussion on the crisis.
'It was because of the unruly behaviour of the Congress MLAs that the House missed an opportunity to deliberate on the burning issues of the state. This is very unfortunate. The state Congress MLAs are repeating the behaviour of their leaders during the Parliament session… All they want is President's Rule. Even Rahul Gandhi had expressed his desire to impose President's Rule in Manipur. What they are trying to do is prolong the crisis,' he said.
However, even the BJP's coalition partners in the state were unhappy over how the Session had been handled. An MLA of the National People's Party - a coalition partner with the BJP in Manipur, and also a part of the NDA - called the Session 'completely undemocratic' and stated that the government's partners had been kept in the dark.
'We are part of the NDA and NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance, formed by the BJP), which is why we are just mute spectators. The business of the day was just handed out to the MLAs at the penultimate second, before the start of the Session. None of us could imagine that this kind of a Session would be held. They have flouted every rule and procedure as per their whims. The public has been demanding a thorough discussion to arrive at a reasonable solution. Even the resolution that was later handed out was not known to the coalition partners. This is against all democratic practices,' said the MLA.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the Session a 'farce', and said had the House sat for a few more days, 'fissures' within the BJP would have come out in 'full display'. In a post on X, Ramesh said the BJP, as always, has 'converted an opportunity into a formality'.
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