Desperate bid to manage headlines: Congress on Shah's 'ready to discuss' Manipur issue remark

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday termed as "a desperate bid to manage headlines" Home Minister Amit Shah's assertion that the government was ready for a discussion on Manipur in Parliament.

The party said Shah was "totally silent" on the opposition alliance INDIA's demand for a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue. Shah said he was willing to hold discussion in the Lok Sabha on the situation in Manipur and wondered why the opposition was not ready for it. Speaking briefly in the Lok Sabha, he requested opposition leaders to allow debate, saying it was important for truth to come out before the country on the Manipur issue.

Reacting to Shah's remarks, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "In a desperate bid to manage headlines, the Home Minister today said that the Modi government is ready for a discussion on Manipur in Parliament. He is not doing anybody any special favour. "The perfectly democratic and legitimate demand of the parties comprising INDIA is for a statement by the Prime Minister on the Manipur situation FIRST followed by a discussion. HM is totally silent on this. What is the hesitation in getting PM to speak INSIDE Parliament first?" Ramesh said on Twitter. The opposition wants a debate allowing all parties to speak without any time restrictions and has been holding protests on the issue since the Monsoon session of Parliament started on Thursday.

The government has accused the opposition members of running away from a debate on the "all-important" issue and has questioned their seriousness towards it. The opposition has also accused the government of running away from a debate on the issue. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have failed to transact any significant business amid the stalemate between the opposition and the government over the Manipur issue. At a conclave in Bengaluru, opposition parties formed the INDIA -- Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance -- to take on the NDA jointly