New Delhi [India], February 11 (ANI): Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday urged Prime Minster Narendra Modi to visit the state of Manipur, which he said “has been burning for the last 20 months” and where people cannot travel from one area to another.
“Manipur has been burning for the last 20 months. So many people have lost their lives, so many properties have been destroyed. People from one area within a state cannot go to another area. This is the pathetic condition of the state in our country…,” Venugopal told ANI.
“Now due to the no-confidence motion brought by the Congress party and the situation created in the Supreme Court, he (N Biren Singh) had to resign from the post of Chief Minister…,” he said.
The Congress leader said that Prime Minister should take the initiative to visit the State and take immediate action to restore peace.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday raised concerns over the Manipur Governor’s actions, accusing him of violating Article 174(1) of the Indian Constitution that mandates that there should be no more than a six-month gap between two consecutive legislative sessions.
The 7th session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, which was scheduled to begin on February 10, was declared “null and void” with immediate effect, as per a notice released by Assembly Secretary K. Meghajit Singh on Sunday.
In a post on X, Jairam questioned why the Governor has failed to summon the assembly, especially after the resignation of Chief Minister Biren Singh on Sunday night, ahead of a scheduled no-confidence motion.
“Today is the last day for a constitutionally mandated sitting of the Manipur Legislative Assembly’s session. Article 174 (1) of the Constitution of India stipulates that there cannot be more than a 6-month gap between the last sitting of an assembly session and the first sitting of the next assembly session,” he stated.
“Why is the Manipur Governor violating Article 174(1) by not summoning the Manipur Legislative Assembly for its constitutionally mandated assembly session?” he asked.
Jairam Ramesh further claimed that the session was declared null and void because the BJP could not appoint a successor to the CM against whom the Congress was scheduled to move a no-confidence motion yesterday and who was forced to resign on Sunday night.
Speaking to ANI, Jairam Ramesh highlighted that according to the Constitution, there should not be a gap of more than six months between two sessions.
“Today, that 6-month period has ended. Yesterday, the Governor announced that this session will not take place. This is against the Constitution. On Monday morning, a no-confidence motion was supposed to be presented in the assembly, but just hours before, on Sunday night, Biren Singh resigned. The BJP does not know who the new CM will be, so the Governor issued a directive declaring that this session is null and void,” he said.
Biren Singh tendered his resignation to Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at Raj Bhawan on Sunday, nearly two years after violence erupted in the state. Singh was accompanied by BJP president A Sharda, BJP’s North East Manipur in-charge Sambit Patra, and at least 19 MLAs.
The violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur began on May 3, 2023, following a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) in response to a Manipur High Court order directing the state to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list.
Over 200 people have been killed in the ethnic conflict and the situation in the state continues to remain tense. (ANI)
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