MPs remind Modi of ‘rajdharma’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) arrives to attend the BJP Parliamentary party meeting, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

The Opposition on Tuesday invoked BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and remind him of ‘rajdharma', as it accused him of taking a "vow of silence" over crucial issues such as the ethnic violence in Manipur. Initiating the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha, Congress member Gaurav Gogoi recalled that former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had visited Gujarat after the 2002 communal riots.

"Why did he (Modi) take about 80 days to speak on Manipur and just for 30 seconds? After that, there has been no peace appeal on Manipur from him. Ministers are saying they will speak, but as the prime minister, the power of his words cannot be matched by ministers," Gogoi said.

Gaurav Gogoi, MP, Congress

"When people were gasping for breath during the second COVID-19 wave, the PM was seeking votes in West Bengal. When women were being assaulted in Manipur, PM Modi was seeking votes in Karnataka. What kind of nationalism is this that places power above the nation," Gogoi said.

Going on listing his reasons for Modi's silence, he added, "When women wrestlers were protesting on the streets, the PM remained silent. When 750 farmers lost their lives during their protest, the PM was silent. In 2020, when Delhi witnessed riots and a foreign leader was visiting India, the PM remained silent... When we questioned the government on incursions by China, the PM remained silent." He demanded that Modi finally address the Parliament, then Manipur and sack the chief minister.

Participating in the debate, DMK member TR Baalu said late Vajpayee stood behind ‘rajdharma', "...but today we cannot stand behind them when women were striped and paraded naked".

"The whole world has condemned happenings in Manipur. The EU parliament has discussed this and the British parliament has condemned PM Modi and his party very strongly," he claimed. Modi, who did not attend the session, addressed his party's MPs earlier in the day, and said that the Opposition brought the no-confidence motion against his government to test if the alliance INDIA was united or not.

In the closed-door meeting, he described INDIA as "ghamandia" (marked by arrogance) and congratulated the BJP's Rajya Sabha MPs for the "semi-final" win in voting on the Delhi services bill, some of the MPs told PTI.

Manipur cops file FIR against Assam Rifles personnel

Manipur police have filed an FIR accusing the Assam Rifles of blocking their vehicle after an altercation between the two groups last week. Assam Rifles described the FIR as a "travesty of justice" and said they were undertaking a task given by the command headquarters of ensuring sanctity of the buffer zones between Kuki and Meitiei areas. The FIR filed on August 5 claimed the Assam Rifles stopped the state cops from proceeding "to conduct search operations in search of Kuki militants". Sources said the Army was taking up the issue with the state government. Meanwhile, the Manipur BJP has requested PM Narendra Modi to replace Assam Rifles with "any other paramilitary force permanently" in the state.

Privilege notice against Goyal for calling Oppn ‘traitors'

Union minister Piyush Goyal in the Rajya Sabha, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

Several leaders of the INDIA bloc have given the Rajya Sabha chairman a privilege notice against Piyush Goyal for calling some of the Opposition leaders "traitors". Goyal questioned the relationship between the opposition parties and news portal NewsClick, which, according to a report in The New York Times, allegedly received funding from China-linked firms. "Nothing less than an apology from him on the floor of the House, when it is in order, will do," Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted. In the House, Goyal said he takes back any words that may not be parliamentary and urged the chair to remove the same from the records.

Rahul gets 12, Tughlaq Lane back

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been re-allotted the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow a day after his Lok Sabha membership was restored following the Supreme Court staying his conviction in a defamation case, officials said on Tuesday. The House Committee of the Lok Sabha decided to allot the bungalow which Gandhi was asked to vacate after he was disqualified as MP on March 24 and given a two-year jail term for the ‘Modi surname' remarks.

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