Amit Shah writes to Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan for ‘cooperation’ on Manipur debate | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said in Lok Sabha that he had sought time from Congress leaders of both Houses of Parliament and urged them to rise above political lines and agree for a comprehensive debate on the situation in Manipur.

In identical but separate letters to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Mallikarjun Kharge, leaders of Congress in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, Shah emphasised that the government did not intend to merely make a statement as demanded by the opposition, and was looking forward to everyone’s cooperation for a detailed discussion in the two Houses.
Later, the minister shared the letters written to Chowdhury and Kharge and said, “Today, I wrote to the opposition leaders of both Houses, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury in Lok Sabha and Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajya Sabha appealing to them for their invaluable cooperation in the discussion of Manipur issue.”

Shah further said the governments sought everybody’s cooperation and it was time for people to rise above partisan lines. “I hope that all the parties will cooperate in resolving this important issue,” he said, adding, “People of Manipur are expecting that MPs belonging to all parties will give them an assurance that all of them are resolute for peace in the state.”
He had appealed to the opposition on Monday to allow a debate so that the “truth comes out”. The second overture in 24 hours came despite the opposition spurning the offer of a discussion and the conviction among saffron ranks that the rivals were not interested in debating the issue and that their insistence that PM Modi make a statement was an alibi for continuing to derail proceedings.

To many, Shah’s persistence appeared to be an attempt to “expose” the real intent of the opposition which must also be wary of atrocities on women in non-BJP states getting highlighted during what is set to be a heated exchange between the two sides.

Government sources said Shah being the head of the MHA, the nodal ministry for the north-east, especially when it comes to law and order, was the logical choice for being the lead speaker from the treasury benches.
In his letter, Shah rebutted allegation that the chaos in Manipur was because of mishandling by the BJP government in the state. He wrote, “Manipur was witnessing unprecedented development and there was peace and amity under BJP rule for the past six years. However, due to a court judgment and a few other incidents, violence was reported in May. A few shameful incidents have also come to light after which people of the country including in the north-east and especially in Manipur are expecting that all parties will rise above political lines and stand with them in these tough times.”