Extend Assembly session, says O Joy
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 31 2026: Veteran politician O Joy has called for extending the forthcoming Assembly session, which is scheduled to have only three sittings (September 2 to 7), to enable a comprehensive discussion on the various issues plaguing Manipur.

Addressing the media at his residence at Kakwa today, Joy said convening the Assembly session merely as a formality to comply with the established protocol of summoning the House every six months is unfortunate.

He also said that the upcoming Assembly session would not have any Private Members' Business of MLAs despite the prevailing situation in the State.

Pointing out that the State Cabinet currently has only five Ministers, he added that the Government's business in the House would also be limited to the five Ministers.

Manipur has been facing various issues, including demands for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), recurring incidents of violence and killings, among others.

In such a situation, Joy said that convening the Assembly for just three sittings is inadequate.

He questioned why the session could not be extended to at least five or six sittings.

The issues confronting Manipur must be discussed in the Assembly, the veteran politician said, questioning the purpose of having elected representatives in a democratic country and paying them handsome salaries if they are not made to perform their mandated duties.

He said that extending the Assembly session by a few days in the interest of the people would be the right step.

The Government could even call a separate session to discuss the law and order issues in the State, he said.

He, meanwhile, stated that Manipur was not included in the list of classical languages when five other languages were accorded the status recently, and added that it was a serious mistake by the BJP Government.

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