Veteran Manipur politician Okram Joy, who is also former state law minister, said that the upcoming assembly session to be conducted for a day will remain as a ‘dark day’ in the history of parliamentary democracy.
Joy told the media at his Kakwa residence on Sunday that the assembly session to be conducted on August 29 will be a controversial sitting as the sitting was scheduled against rules of procedure and conduct of business.
It is unfortunate that the sitting will be conducted for only one day while Manipur has been for the last nearly four months, he added.
The upcoming sitting is to be convened in order to save the present Biren-led government, the veteran politician alleged. As per the Constitution of India, assembly sitting should be convened for every six months gap and for Manipur Legislative assembly the deadline to convene the session is on September 2, the veteran added.
He said the upcoming session might not be able to satisfy the people of Manipur regarding the present turmoil.
In the recent Parliamentary session, MPs of Manipur were not allowed to speak on the floor by the present BJP government.
Similarly, no MLAs of Manipur will be given opportunity to speak on the present turmoil in the upcoming assembly session, Joy asserted.
He recalled that BJP MLAs and some senior leaders who are in the present BJP government had submitted a letter to the central government stating that they are not satisfied with the Biren-led government in Manipur.
He said, people will have to wait and see which MLA will be able to raise voice against CM Biren in the upcoming assembly session scheduled on August 29. Further, Joy compared the present Biren-led government to a patient who is undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit.
Stating that opposition parties are considered a ‘brake’ in a democratic government, Joy said that people do not drive brakeless vehicles and cautioned the CM that there is high risk for road mishap while riding a brakeless vehicle.
The veteran also recalled that Union MOS minister RK Ranjan had expressed that the law-and-order situation in Manipur has totally failed even with some BJP MLAs submitting a memo to Amit Shah mentioning that people of Manipur are against the present Biren-led government. Even the Supreme Court observed the law-and-order situation of Manipur as vulnerable, he added.
Joy continued that one of the BJP MLAs, who is also a cabinet minister in the Biren-led government, had submitted a leave application to the Speaker seeking leave for the upcoming assembly session sitting. In her application, she mentioned that she along with her family members are not safe to come to Imphal. If a cabinet minister cannot trust the present law and order of Manipur, then what will happen to the civilians of Manipur, he questioned.
He suggested that MLAs of Manipur should come out courageously to discuss the present issue of Manipur so that normalcy could be brought.
The 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs should also stop dreaming for a ‘separate administration’ by disintegrating the territorial boundary of Manipur, said Joy and questioned why the state and the centre failed to take any action against the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs who are trying to disintegrate the territorial boundary of Manipur.
