Jairam Ramesh accuses Piyush Goyal of inciting party MPs to block Kharge

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday alleged that Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal instigated party MPs to obstruct Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge from demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the Manipur violence in the House.

In a tweet, Ramesh, who is also Congress general secretary communication in charge said, “BJP continues to cross all limits of decency and decorum in Parliament. Today morning no less than the Leader of the House Piyush Goyal actively instigated BJP MPs, who then obstructed Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge-ji from speaking in the Rajya Sabha to raise INDIA’s demands for Prime Minister's statement on Manipur and for a discussion on it thereafter."

His remarks came after Goyal in the Upper House said that those wearing black clothes can't understand the growth of a country and its reputation across the globe.

“The past of these people was black and their future is also black. I hope their lives are enlightened," Goyal added.

The Rajya Sabha witnessed adjournments after uproar over the Opposition MPs demanding for a detailed discussion on Manipur and a statement by the Prime Minister in the House.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media outside Parliament, Kharge alleged that the Prime Minister was running away from giving a statement on the Manipur issue.

He said, "People of this country are aware of the political scenario in this country and they will fight against injustice. The Prime Minister is running away from making any statement in the Parliament, which is the temple of democracy and giving political statements in Rajasthan by opening the medical college.”

The Opposition MPs then staged a protest and raised slogans against the government outside Parliament along with suspended AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have witnessed disruptions in the Monsoon session over the Opposition's demand for a detailed discussion on Manipur violence, where ethnic clashes erupted on May 3.

Hundreds of people have died and thousands have been forced to take refuge in the relief camps in Manipur.