Opposition members of the parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs staged a walkout during a meeting on Thursday after their request to discuss the ongoing situation in Manipur was denied by the committee’s chairman, according to sources. The meeting was originally scheduled to address prison reforms in various states.

During the meeting, members from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) including Derek O’Brien, as well as Congress members Digvijaya Singh and Pradip Bhattacharya, submitted letters to committee chairman Brijlal emphasizing that as committee members, they could not overlook the critical situation in Manipur, as per the sources.

This was not the first time O’Brien and Singh had reached out to Brijlal, requesting a dedicated discussion on the Manipur situation. However, the chairperson informed them separately that due to prior commitments, urgent meetings specifically focused on the Manipur situation could not be accommodated at the moment, as three meetings on prison reforms had already been scheduled for July.

In the meeting, which was attended by a total of seven members, including the chairman, opposition members expressed their disappointment and decided to stage a walkout. The Manipur situation has resulted in the loss of approximately 120 lives and left over 3,000 individuals injured due to ongoing ethnic violence since May 3.