From a resurgent opposition that forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the ongoing 14-month-long ethnic violence in Manipur with its constant sloganeering demanding justice for the northeastern state, to Manipur finding its own voice in the form of one of its new MP’s fiery speech in the Lok Sabha highlighting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s neglect, the 18th Lok Sabha in its first session in many ways looked decidedly different from the 17th Lok Sabha.
While the 17th Lok Sabha has the distinction of being the one in which a total of 146 opposition MPs were suspended (including in the Rajya Sabha), the 18th Lok Sabha’s first session which was held from June 24 to July 3 saw a buoyant opposition after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP, stripped of a majority with only 240 seats, down from 303 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has had to depend on its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form the government. With larger representation in the Lok Sabha, the opposition has also managed to secure the post of the leader of the opposition for Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. The post had been lying vacant for a decade.
The Wire brings five ways in which the special session of the 18th Lok Sabha showed marked differences from the 17th Lok Sabha:
Unprecedented opposition sloganeering through Modi’s Lok Sabha speech
In an unprecedented show of strength, buoyed by their numbers in the Lok Sabha after a decade, the opposition continued to chant “Manipur, Manipur” throughout Modi’s nearly two-hour-long speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The opposition chanted slogans demanding that Modi address the situation in Manipur after Alfred Kan-Ngam Arthur, the Outer Manipur MP from Congress was not allowed to speak despite requests from the opposition. While Modi was slated to speak in the Lok Sabha at around 4 pm, the opposition requested Speaker Om Birla to give two minutes to the Manipur MP.
Birla, however, refused to do so and said that the Congress had already been given enough time. The opposition MPs, including those from the northeast, then stormed the well of the House during Modi’s speech and raised slogans throughout the course of his speech.
Modi forced to speak on Manipur
In the 17th Lok Sabha, it took a no-confidence motion moved against his government to make Modi address the ongoing violence in Manipur. But in the 18th Lok Sabha, after a day of sloganeering by the opposition throughout his speech, in a manner not seen before, Modi addressed the violence-torn state in the Rajya Sabha.
Modi said that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the centre and the BJP government in the state are making “continued efforts” to bring peace.
“In the previous session, I had spoken about Manipur in length. But today I want to reiterate again. To normalise the situation in Manipur, the government is continuously making efforts. More than 11,000 FIRs have been registered. Manipur is a small state. Over 500 people have been arrested. We have to accept that incidents of violence are continuously reducing in Manipur,” he said.
Hitting out at the opposition Modi said that there is a need to “rise above politics”.
“We have to rise above politics and make efforts together to normalise the situation in Manipur. This is our duty. I warn those elements who are trying to add fuel to the fire in Manipur. A time will come when they will be rejected by Manipur,” he said.
Manipur’s voice heard in parliament
Manipur which has been under the grip of ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, finally had its voice heard in parliament on the strife in the state. The Congress won both the two parliamentary seats in the northeastern state.
Congress MP from Manipur Inner Angomcha Bimol Akoijam. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube video.
In his maiden speech delivered close to midnight, Congress MP from Manipur Inner Angomcha Bimol Akoijam tore into the ruling BJP and Modi for ignoring the “hurt, anger and sufferings” of 60,000 people displaced in the state due to the ongoing violence which has forced them to take shelter in relief camps under wretched conditions.
Last year both the Manipur MPs-Naga People’s Front MP Lorho S Pfoze who represented Outer Manipur and the BJP’s RK Ranjan Singh, representing Inner Manipur, were advised to not speak on the ethnic violence in the state by the BJP.
Modi’s rare intervention
In a rare sight in parliament, the beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself intervening during LoP Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address. In the 17th Lok Sabha, other ministers of the Modi government and BJP MPs had often stood up and hollered in Modi’s defence. On Monday, Modi rose twice during Gandhi’s speech.
“Those who call themselves Hindu 24×7 spread hatred, violence, and untruths. You are not Hindus. Hindu dharma clearly states that you must stand with the truth and not be scared of the truth. Nonviolence is our symbol. Abhaymudra,” said Gandhi.
These words have now been expunged from the records.
Modi then stood up and said “…[A] very serious subject. Labelling all of Hindu society as violent is an extremely serious matter.”
Modi also rose when Gandhi alleged during his speech that senior Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari greet him frequently but their attitude towards him changes the moment when the prime minister is around them.
Modi immediately got up and said: “Speaker sir, our democracy and constitution have taught me that I should treat the LoP with utmost seriousness.”
Lok Sabha gets a LoP after a decade
While the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stripped the BJP of its majority for the first time in a decade, the results have made it possible for the Lok Sabha to have a leader of opposition. With 98 seats, the Congress has become the second largest party in the lower house after the BJP which has 240 seats. In order for a party to have the leader of opposition’s post, it needs 10% of seats in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, the largest opposition party in both the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha did not meet the criterion having won only 44 and 52 seats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The opposition is now vying for the post of the deputy speaker, which was not filled in the 17th Lok Sabha.
