In House, Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of fanning violence in India, says govt has failed to protect Manipur; Smriti Irani hits back with ‘whataboutery’
People shout slogans against the Centre, during a protest over the ongoing Manipur violence, in Amritsar, on Wednesday. Several Christian and Dalit bodies protested at several places in Punjab amid a bandh. Pics/PTI
On Day 2 of the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack against the BJP over the Manipur violence. In retaliation, Union minister Smriti Irani raked up several incidents of violence from the past, alleging failures of the previous Congress governments.
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During the debate, Gandhi said the BJP’s politics had “murdered Bharat Mata” in Manipur, where more than 160 innocent lives have been lost since May 3. He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur and alleged that he does not consider the state to be part of India. Gandhi said that during his visit to Manipur, he met women and children at the relief camps.
“I asked a woman, ‘What happened with you?’ She said, ‘My small son, only child, was shot before my eyes. I spent the whole night with the body of my child and then I felt afraid. I left my house’. In another camp, he said he asked a woman the same question—“What happened with you?” And she started trembling and fainted.
“Their politics has not killed Manipur but killed Hindustan in Manipur. By killing the people of Manipur you have murdered Bharat Mata, you are not desh bhakts (patriots) but deshdrohis (traitors),” he said.
PM Modi was not in the House when Gandhi spoke.
A caution from JD(U)
Speaking during the debate, Janata Dal (United) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ cautioned that the Manipur unrest could spill over to Nagaland and Mizoram. “You can’t take Manipur lightly. Today, the incident happened in Manipur, tomorrow it will happen in Mizoram, the day after it can happen in Nagaland, and it will impact the whole northeastern border. You are not understanding the seriousness of the matter.”
Taking to Twitter, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the total “breakdown of constitutional machinery” in the state. Citing the Manipur police’s FIR against the Assam Rifles, he said, “The accompanying shrill rhetoric from the Manipur CM and those who surround him makes it clear that there’s growing mistrust between the BJP governments in the state and the Centre?”
‘Failure of Amit Shah’
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi asked, “Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh is making serious charges against the Assam Rifles which is directly under Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The failure to control Manipur is being increasingly put on the shoulders of Union Home Ministry. Will PM Modi act or put party over nation?”
The debate over no-trust against govt
Rahul Gandhi, MP, Congress
>> Government’s politics has murdered the voice of India, which means you have murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur
>> You have sprinkled kerosene everywhere. You have set fire to Manipur. You are now trying the same thing in Haryana
>> PM Narendra Modi has not visited Manipur because he doesn’t consider it part of India
>> Indian Army can restore peace in Manipur in one day but government not using its services
Smriti Irani, MP, BJP
>> This is the first time in Parliament’s history that someone talked about the murder of Bharat Mata, and Congress leaders were thumping desks
>> You [Congress] aren’t India because India isn’t corrupt, India believes in merit, not dynasty
>> Rahul Gandhi spoke of the voice of India. Are the voices of [Kashmiri Pandit exodus victims] Girija Tickoo, Sarla Bhatt, and Sikhs massacred in 1984 not the voices of India?
>> Their [Congress] history is soaked in blood
Modi developed northeast: Shah
Speaking during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the previous governments did nothing for the Northeast. “PM Narendra Modi brought all-round development in the region,” he added. On the violence, he said, “We are pained at the incidents of violence in Manipur. As a society we are ashamed.”
‘Mizoram educating 8,000 refugee kids’
Over 8,000 children of refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, and internally displaced people from strife-torn Manipur are receiving education in schools in Mizoram, said its School Education Minister Lalchhandama Ralte. Of the 8,119 children, 6,366 students are from Myanmar, 250 are from Bangladesh and 1,503 are from Manipur, he said. Ralte said the students are receiving free school uniforms, textbooks as well as mid-day meals like local pupils. He said the Mizoram government is committed to providing education to these children, who are from the Zo tribes.
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