A delegation of the Opposition INDIA group that visited Manipur last weekend, along with floor leaders of Parliament, on Wednesday urged President Droupadi Murmu to nominate two women from different communities of the state to the Rajya Sabha as a sign of solidarity.

The 33-member delegation called on the President in the morning to apprise her of the situation in Manipur based on the visit to the state and also seek her intervention in breaking the deadlock in Parliament, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ignored Opposition calls for a statement on the conflict.

As decided in advance, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, updated Murmu on how the Prime Minister had avoided Parliament through the ongoing monsoon session that was already past its halfway mark.

Kharge’s counterpart in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, submitted a memorandum based on the visit to Manipur.

The issue of nominating two women from Manipur to the Rajya Sabha was raised by Sushmita Dev of the Trinamul Congress. Dev, who has visited Manipur twice since the clashes broke out, pointed out that there were two vacancies in the “nominated members” category in the Upper House.

She urged the President to nominate two women from different communities of Manipur to the Rajya Sabha, pointing out that it would send a strong message that India feels about the situation in the northeastern state.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah brought up the communal violence in Haryana, drawing attention to the damage done to India’s social fabric.

The delegation had gone to Rashtrapati Bhavan from Parliament where again proceedings were disrupted over the Prime Minister’s absence from the legislature. While the Lok Sabha awaits a discussion on the no-confidence motion over Manipur next week, 58 notices were submitted in the Rajya Sabha again on Wednesday for suspension of business under Rule 267 to discuss the flare-up.

Rejecting an attempt by Kharge to elaborate why the Prime Minister should make a statement in the House on the Manipur violence, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said “I cannot and shall not give the direction” to the Premier to intervene.

He said there was no precedent for this and it was the Prime Minister’s prerogative if he wanted to come and speak in the House, urging the Opposition to consult legal luminaries in their midst to understand the constitutional arrangement.

Outside Parliament, Trinamul Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien said what was on display was the “Prime Minister’s total contempt for Parliament”.