Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday took a jibe at the government, questioning why Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, whose private residence was burnt down in Manipur, has not been given a chance by the BJP to speak in Parliament while other ministers spoke during the no-confidence motion.
Ramesh, who is the Congress general secretary communications in-charge said, "Quite a few Ministers have spoken in Lok Sabha during the No Confidence Motion. Why is it so that the only Union MoS and BJP MP in Lok Sabha representing Manipur Inner Parliamentary constituency, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, whose private residence was burnt down, has not been given a chance by BJP to speak for Manipur in Parliament?"
His remarks came a day after Union Ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani led from the front for the government opposing the no-trust motion in the Lok Sabha.
Singh's residence was torched by a mob in Manipur after clashes erupted in the northeastern state.
Ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur on May 3 and since then hundreds of people have lost their lives whereas thousands have been forced to take refuge in relief camps.
A no-trust motion has been brought by the Congress on behalf of the opposition bloc of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in the Lok Sabha over Manipur. The debate was initiated on Tuesday by Congress Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi. On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi and several other opposition MPs slammed the government while Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Amit Shah spoke against the no-trust motion.
The no-trust motion will conclude with the Prime Minister’s reply on Thursday.
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