Kapil Sibal retorts to VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, questions PM Modi over Manipur violence

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has retorted to vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar’s recent observation that disturbance has been weaponised in the temples of democracy and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not making a statement on Manipur.
In a tweet, Sibal, a senior advocate and a former Union minister, quoted Dhankhar and said, “Vice-President: ‘...disturbance and disruption are being weaponised… to taint temples of democracy’.A temple where the Prime Minister refuses to make a statement on Manipur, refuses to answer questions? That is when the temple of democracy is ‘disturbed and disrupted’!”

He was referring to Dhankhar’s address at the centenary year convocation of Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMIU) on Sunday in which he reiterated that democracy is all about dialogue, discussion, deliberation and debate while labelling disruption and disturbance as antithetical to democratic values.
The VP also expressed his pain and concern over the disturbance getting “weaponised” in the temples of democracy that should be functional 24x7 to ensure justice to the people at large.
He had called upon everyone to act to preserve and sustain the essence of democratic values. He underlined that there can be no alibi for not making Parliament functional every second.
Stating that the people of this country are paying a huge price for it, he said, “When there is disruption in Parliament on a particular day, there can not be Question Hour. Question Hour is a mechanism to generate accountability and transparency in governance. The government is obligated to respond to every question. This goes to enormous benefit of the government. Not having question hour can never be rationalised when you think in terms of democratic values and good governance.”
The vice-president underlined that disagreement and dissent are a natural part of democratic process, but “turning disagreement into hostility is no less than a curse for democracy”. Cautioning that “opposition” should not turn into “revenge”, Dhankhar suggested dialogue and discussion as the only way forward.
His observations had come after the Rajya Sabha witnessed pandemonium over the opposition demanding Modi’s statement in Parliament before a discussion starts on the ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur.
Both Houses of Parliament have witnessed unruly scenes for the first five consecutive days of the current monsoon session.
Meanwhile, Sibal has been tweeting on the disturbance in Manipur in order to corner the Modi government. In a tweet, he said, “Mizoram assures Meiteis’s safety. Yet Meiteis leaving Mizoram, 65 left by Indigo flight. Numerous others are believed to have left on Friday (July 21) by road. We need a sensitive proactive government. Not a reactive government. Muddying the debate by referring to other states won’t help.”
In another tweet on July 22, the Rajya Sabha MP said, “Manipur – The only way forward: Sack Biren Singh. Impose Article 356. Apologise to the women of our country. Nothing has changed since Nirbhaya, Unnao, Hatharas, Kathua, Bilkis (convicts released). Beti bachao (save the daughters) PMji!”
The former Congress leader was referring to the parading of two Manipur women naked on May 4 which has been condemned by all and is also rocking Parliament.