MoS says peace returning in Manipur, Opp demands elections

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a statutory resolution approving extension of President’s Rule in Manipur by another six months beyond August 13 even as Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said violence was on a decline in the state.

The Opposition criticised the move, with Congress MP from Inner Manipur, Bimol Akoijam, demanding the state Assembly be dissolved. “Let’s have a fresh mandate and the rule of the people,” he said. SP’s Lalji Verma called the extension “a matter of concern” and TMC’s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar emphasised that President’s rule was “not the final solution of the problem”.

Rai had moved the statutory resolution — it is moved in pursuance of a provision in the Constitution or an Act of Parliament — to extend President’s Rule in Manipur for discussion in Lok Sabha. Speaker Om Birla said President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13 and the House had approved it on April 2. The approval of the President’s Rule by Parliament is valid for six months.