India’s Parliament was rocked by protests for a third day over ethnic violence in the remote state

NEW DELHI (AP) India’s Parliament was marred for a third day Monday by opposition protests fueled by ethnic clashes in a remote northeastern state where more than 130 people have been killed since May.

Opposition lawmakers carried placards and chanted slogans outside the Parliament building as they demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the violence in Manipur state ahead of a debate on the issue.

Last week, Modi broke more than two months of public silence on ethnic clashes, telling reporters that a mob attack on two women who were parked in the nude was unforgivable, but he did not directly refer to larger violence.

His comments came after a video showing the attacks sparked widespread outrage on social media despite much of the internet being blocked and journalists locked up in the state. It shows two naked women surrounded by many young men who fondle their genitals and drag them towards a field.

The video is symbolic of the near-civil war in Manipur, where mobs are rampaging through villages and burning houses. The conflict was sparked by an affirmative action controversy in which Christian Kukis protested a demand by the majority Hindu Meiteis for a special status that would let them buy land in the hills inhabited by Kukis and other tribal groups and get a share of government jobs.

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Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that the government is ready to discuss the situation in Manipur. “I am asking the opposition to let there be a discussion on this issue. It is important that the country knows the truth on this sensitive matter, he said in the lower house of Parliament.

Both houses of Parliament were adjourned at various times as the opposition stopped proceedings in their demand for a statement from Modi. Sessions were also interrupted on Thursday and Friday.

The president of the main opposition Congress party, Mallikarjun Kharge, tweeted that it was Modi’s duty to make a comprehensive statement in Parliament on the violence in Manipur.

The violence in Manipur and the horrifying video sparked protests across the country. On Monday, crowds gathered in Indian-controlled Kashmir and placard-carrying protesters took to the streets of the eastern city of Kolkata.

Over the weekend, nearly 15,000 people staged a sit-in protest in Manipur to demand the immediate arrest of anyone involved in the attack, which took place in May. They also called for the ouster of Biren Singh, the highest elected official in the state who also belongs to Modi’s party.

The state government said last week that four suspects had been arrested and police were conducting raids to arrest other suspects.