New Delhi, August 5: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday approved a statutory resolution to extend President’s Rule in Manipur for an additional six months beyond August 13, amid persistent disruptions and slogan-shouting by Opposition members demanding a discussion on the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The resolution, which had already been passed by the Lok Sabha last week, was moved in the Upper House by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai. It was adopted through a voice vote, despite the noisy protest by several Opposition MPs.
Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, who presided over the session, repeatedly urged protesting MPs to return to their seats and participate in the proceedings. “Please go to your seat and say ‘no’,” he appealed, stressing that passing the resolution was a constitutional obligation under Article 356 and had to be completed within the stipulated timeframe.
“We have not done any business in the House,” he noted, pointing to Congress MP Jairam Ramesh, as the protests continued.
Moving the resolution, Minister Nityanand Rai stated that the extension was necessitated by the ongoing administrative vacuum in Manipur. He reiterated that the violence in the state stemmed from a High Court order concerning reservations, not communal tensions.
“A rift was created between two communities in Manipur due to a court order. Those who say it is communal violence are wrong,” Rai said.
The minister noted that in the eight months since President’s Rule was first imposed, only one incident of violence had been reported, indicating that peace had largely returned to the region. He also said the Ministry of Home Affairs had consulted with security agencies and civil society organisations as part of the decision-making process.
Despite the resolution’s constitutional nature, the session was marked by chaos, with Opposition MPs demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar under Rule 259.
MPs including Shushmita Dev, Tiruchi Siva, and Ram Pratap Garhi led chants of “SIR par charcha ho” and “Vote ki chori nahi chalegi”, stalling proceedings and forcing repeated interventions by the Chair. The disruptions were so intense that even Subhash Chandra Bose Pilli of the YSR Congress Party, the only MP who attempted to speak, could not be clearly heard.
When BJD MP Mujibullah Khan tried to raise issues related to Odisha, the Deputy Chairman redirected him to stick to the resolution on Manipur.
Despite calls from the Chair for a constructive debate, Opposition members declined to engage on the Manipur issue, insisting that the House first address their electoral concerns.
With no let-up in the protests, the Deputy Chairman called for members to register their dissent from their seats and declared the resolution passed via voice vote.
