West Bengal Assembly: Motion against violence in Manipur to be tabled on July 31

A motion to discuss and condemn the ethnic violence in Manipur, which has left more than 160 people dead, will be tabled in the West Bengal assembly on July 31, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said.

The decision to table a motion in the assembly was made earlier this week at an "all-party meeting" which the opposition BJP chose to boycott.

On Wednesday, during the Business Advisory (BA) committee meeting, it was decided that the motion will be tabled on July 31.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has blamed the "divisive" policies of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Manipur for the ethnic strife in the northeastern state, will be one of the speakers on the motion.

"The motion will be tabled in the assembly on Monday. We will discuss the situation in Manipur and the humanitarian crisis the northeastern state is facing," he told reporters.

Speaking on the proposal, Chattopadhyay said the entire country is terrified and upset with the torture and violence the women and children in Manipur are facing.

"This country belongs to everybody. The role of the central government is unfortunate. As members of the West Bengal Assembly, we will discuss and register our protest," he said.

More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

In West Bengal, the opposition BJP, which has been boycotting all-party meetings and meets of the business advisory committee for the last few sessions, said its members would oppose any discussion on Manipur in the assembly.

The BJP said it wants to discuss the violence in the recently held panchayat polls that left several people dead and atrocities against women in the state.

"The state government is trying to divert attention from the atrocities against women in West Bengal. We want a discussion on this issue but are not allowed," BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul said.