In a joint press conference, the Opposition leaders said on Tuesday that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's mic was turned off when he was speaking in the house earlier in the day.
The Opposition parties also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mocking the INDIA, the new coalition of the 26 Opposition parties which stands for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
In a joint press conference, the Opposition leaders said on Tuesday that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's mic was turned off when he was speaking in the house earlier in the day.
The Opposition leaders also said that the disruption caused by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar shows that the ruling part wants to "hide the atrocities in Manipur".
Since the beginning of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament last week, the Opposition has been seeking a discussion on the Manipur violence in the Parliament. While the government has agreed for a discussion, the Opposition has continued to press its demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a statement on the issue. The government, on the other hand, has said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah would reply to the debate on Manipur in the house.
Manipur has been in the grips of ethnic violence between the state's Meitei and tribal communities since May 3. Over 160 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced. The Opposition has criticised Modi's silence on Manipur violence for several weeks. It was only last week that Modi made first comments on Manipur after a video surfaced showing two tribal women being paraded naked and groped by a mob. It led to nationwide outrage.
Speaking at the joint press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha said the BJP MPs disrupted Kharge's speech in Rajya Sabha as it does not want Manipur's voice to be raised in the Parliament.
"When Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge Sahab attempted to speak on Manipur, all BJP MPs stood and created a ruckus. Their efforts to make sure that the voice of Manipur is not raised in the Parliament makes it clear that the BJP want to cover up the atrocities and barbarity in Manipur," said Chadha in Hindi.
Chadha also called for the imposition of President's Rule in Manipur. He also slammed the suspension of Opposition MPs.
He said, "Under Article 356, the Manipur government should be suspended and the government should take up its responsibility and ensure peace and brotherhood in Manipur."
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that "limits were crossed" and Kharge's mic was turned off.
Speaking in Hindi at the joint press conference, Chaturvedi accused Rajya Sabha Chairperson Dhankhar and Leader of House Piyush Goyal of disrupting Kharge.
"Limits were crossed today when Leader of the House was himself, the Chairperson, and BJP MPs were disrupting the Leader of Opposition's speech. Now that he got the chance to speak, his mic was turned off...What kind of traditions are you starting in New India? I say it's not New India. It's not even India. It's autocratic thinking and work of BJP," said Modi, adding that she hopes that Modi will discuss Manipur in the Parliament.
Responding to Modi's comments on INDIA coalition, the Congress party on Tuesday said the BJP is rattled with Opposition unity. Regarding his comparison that "INDIA" was also there in the names of the British East India Company, Congress said that "slaves of the British were the political ancestors of the BJP" and called him "victim of moral bankruptcy".
Earlier on Tuesday, Modi had criticised the Opposition's new coalition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), as as "the most directionless the country has ever seen" and cited reviled names like East India Company and terrorist group Indian Mujahideen to say that people cannot be misled merely by the use of 'India' in the name.
Lately, BJP leaders have been calling out 'India' and are instead embracing 'Bharat' to criticise the new name that the 26 Opposition parties have taken. Congress Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, however, said: "Article 1 -- India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of states."
Shrinate also said while cursing the opposition, Modi "has started calling India good or bad?"
"One thing is clear -- you give instructions to your cheap troll army. The opposition is not misguided -- you are a victim of moral bankruptcy. Stop paying lip service, gather courage and speak on Manipur," Shrinate said in a tweet in Hindi.
Kharge also tweeted: "While we are talking about Manipur, the prime minister, outside the House, is calling 'INDIA' as 'East India Company'. The Congress party has always been with 'Mother India' i.e. 'Bharat Mata'."
He further said, "The slaves of the British were the political ancestors of the BJP. Prime Minister Modi, stop diverting the country's attention with your rhetoric. Narendra Modiji, speak about Manipur in Parliament, do not belittle the dignity of the prime minister's post by calling INDIA, that is Bharat, good or bad."
In a video released by the Congress, Kharge said, "Why is he (Modi) rattled by the name of our alliance INDIA, if he thinks there is nothing in a name? This means that with the opposition meetings being held successfully in Patna and in Bengaluru, they (BJP) are getting rattled and scared. They are saying all this in their fear and recalling East India Company and Indian Mujahideen.
"They are aligned with the ideology that helped the East India Company and the British. They did not participate in the Quit India movement and the freedom movement. And the people of the ideology that killed (Mahatma) Gandhiji are telling us that we are directionless. We are not directionless, we show the way. Prime Minister Modi has become directionless.