Congress claims discussion on President’s Rule in Manipur in Lok Sabha at two a.m. disregards ‘sanctity’ of Parliament

Deputy Leader of the Congress Gaurav Gogoi targets Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision to take up the Manipur issue at such a late time; adds that it is an insult to the people of Manipur

Questioning the decision to discuss the statutory resolution of the imposition of President’s rule in Manipur in the early hours of Thursday (April 3, 2025), the Congress accused the government of “bulldozing” the resolution and “adding insult to injury”.

Deputy Leader of the Congress Gaurav Gogoi targeted the Home Minister for the decision to take up the Manipur discussion at 2 a.m.

“Home Minister Amit Shah’s moving of resolution at 2 am to further extend President’s Rule in Manipur is an insult to the people of Manipur and complete disregard of the sanctity of the Parliament,” Mr. Gogoi said.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting strife-torn Manipur, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh, in an X post, said: “Frequent Flier flies off again. This time it is to Bangkok. Look East by all means but why continue to ignore Manipur?”

“...And why bulldoze the proclamation on President’s Rule in the state [Manipur] at 2AM this morning in the Lok Sabha, leaving just an hour for debate and discussion but just about enough time for the Home Minister’s falsehoods, twists, and distortions? This is adding insult to injury,” Mr. Ramesh added.

Soon after the Lok Sabha had finished voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Opposition members including Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi were stunned by Speaker Om Birla’s announcement that the House would take the discussion on Manipur.

Mr. Gandhi, along with other senior Congress members K.C. Venugopal and Shashi Tharoor, urged the Chair if the discussion on Manipur could start in the morning. Mr. Birla, however, asked Mr. Tharoor, the leader speaker from the Congress, to initiate the debate.

“Had the unusual experience last night of making a speech at 2 AM — and that too in Parliament! The Lok Sabha took up consideration of the Home Minister’s resolution approving the proclamation of President’s Rule in Manipur, and it did so after the prolonged discussion and voting on the Wakf Bill finished at 2 am,” Mr. Thaoor said in a post on X.

Published - April 04, 2025 04:02 am IST