Spoke for 30 seconds after 1800 hrs of silence on Manipur: Congress on PM’s remarks
In his post on Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister “completely sidestepped” the ethnic conflict in Manipur and made no appeal for peace
NEW DELHI: Congress leaders on Thursday renewed their attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his statement ahead of Parliament’s monsoon session that also expressed his anguish over the viral video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur, saying PM Modi has finally broken his silence on the situation in Manipur but that the fleeting reference to Manipur was “too little too late”.
“After more than 1800 hours of an incomprehensible and unforgivable silence, the Prime Minister finally spoke on Manipur for a sum total of 30 seconds. After which, the PM tried to divert attention from the colossal governance failures and the humanitarian tragedy in Manipur by equating crimes against women in other states, especially those governed by the Opposition while ignoring atrocities on women in states like MP, UP and Gujarat,” Congress’s Rajya Sabha chief whip Jairam Ramesh said in a post on Twitter.
Jairam Ramesh also underlined the prime minister “completely sidestepped” the ethnic conflict and made no appeal for peace.
“The perpetrators of these crimes have been arrested in Congress-governed states within 24 hours. In Manipur, it took 15 days to register an FIR against unknown persons and today, 64 days later for the CM of Manipur to claim that arrests have been made. There has been a complete and total collapse of law & order and administration in Manipur,” the senior Congress leader added.
In his customary statement before the television cameras ahead of the monsoon session, PM Modi referred to the two-month-old video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur which surfaced on social media on Wednesday.
“My heart is filled with pain and anger. The incident from Manipur that has come before us is shameful for any civilized society… the whole nation is shamed. I urge all the chief ministers to further strengthen law and order in their states and especially for the security of women and take the strongest measures. Be it any incident in Rajasthan or Chhattisgarh or Manipur or any corner of the country - rise above politics…,” the PM said.
Jairam Ramesh, who is also the party’s general secretary in-charge of the communications department, said there had been a complete and total collapse of law and order and administration in Manipur. “The Prime Minister and the Home Minister cannot escape accountability. The Chief Minister of Manipur should step down immediately,” he said.
The Congress and the 26-party alliance of opposition parties, INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) has demanded that parliament first discuss the situation in Manipur where ethnic violence, largely between the Kuki and Meitei communities, has rocked the state for two months, and led to over 150 deaths. The violence has left over 50,000 injured.
It is a sentiment that was echoed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi as well when PM Modi walked up to her to enquire about her health. A Congress MP said Sonia Gandhi told the prime minister that “the only issue to discuss is Manipur”.
On Twitter, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate also took a swipe at the Centre and PM Modi, asserting that the prime minister spoke on Manipur for just 36 seconds in a statement that stretched for 8 minutes and 25 seconds. “Instead of speaking on Manipur, you started taunting Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh? The incident is 77 days old and you are really getting to know about it now? The truth is that you are as much responsible for this brutality as the devils seen in the video. Today every woman of this country is feeling naked,” she said.
