Manipur CM slams Congress for boycotting Assembly session

Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Saturday extended an invitation to opposition Congress legislators to discuss comprehensive development plans and ongoing activities during the current assembly session.

Speaking at a function in Imphal, Chief Minister Singh, without directly naming opposition leader and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh or other Congress MLAs, said that he would only engage in a debate with them within the Manipur Legislative Assembly.

This statement from the Chief Minister follows the walkout by Congress MLAs, led by O. Ibobi Singh, who on Friday decided to boycott the remaining days of the ongoing assembly session.

The Congress boycotted the Assembly Session after the Speaker rejected a private member resolution proposed by the party.

Following the walkout, Ibobi Singh told the media that the Congress was urging all sixty members of the state assembly to meet with the Prime Minister to expedite the restoration of peace in Manipur, a state currently reeling from ethnic violence that has claimed over 226 lives in the past 15 months.

Condemning the Congress for its walkout and subsequent boycott, N. Biren Singh said he is prepared to debate with the opposition legislators but only within the confines of the assembly.

"I want to debate with the opposition to get their responses, but it should be during the assembly session," Singh said.

He added that it would be pointless to engage in public outcry without receiving any responses regarding the ongoing crisis in Manipur, further positioning himself as ready to engage in a developmental debate on the state’s current situation.