NCP MP Supriya Sule speaks during a debate on the no-confidence motion in Parliamenton Tuesday.
Credit: PTI Photo
In what appeared to be a well-defined strategy to corner the Narendra Modi government on the no-confidence motion debate, Opposition parties on Tuesday sought to focus on Manipur turbulence in particular fielding women MPs who accused the government of being "insensitive" to the plight of women in the violence-torn state.
Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha, Congress's Gaurav Gogoi said the Opposition has been forced to bring in the motion to break PM Modi's "vow of silence".
"Had the video not gone viral, PM Modi would have carried on with his maun vrat (vow of silence). Why did he take 80 days to speak on Manipur and just spoke for 30 seconds? Even till today, he has not uttered a word of condolence or given a call for peace and harmony," Gogoi added.
Speaking in support of the motion, NCP's Supriya Sule accused the government of toppling nine governments in nine years.
"I demand that (Manipur) CM must resign immediately. 10,000 cases of rioting, murder, and rape. Have we become so insensitive? This is the problem with the government," Sule said.
Calling it a "state-sponsored ethnic violence", Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav said that had the images not come out, no one would have known what happened to the women in Manipur. "In Manipur, there was a complete destruction of human rights, and using women as instruments for perpetuating violence is simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy," Yadav said.
Congress leader Manish Tewari said that when there is any unrest in any northeastern state it affects the entire northeast region and the country.
Biju Janata Dal's Pinaki Mishra, whose party was supporting the government, said that Home Minister Amit Shah held an all-party meeting where he explained in detail the Manipur issue, which Pinaki said, was bound in legacy issues. "The state high court passed an erroneous order, without hearing all parties, which the Supreme Court severely deprecated. I think the Supreme Court missed a trick there, in asking the case to be remanded to the high court it made a huge error and I pointed this out at the meeting," Mishra said.
Taking a strong note of the PM's silence, Trinamool Congress's Prof Saugata Ray asked why was the prime minister visiting seven countries when the Manipur violence took place. "Is the prime minister a roving ambassador or a travelling salesman," he asked.
Cut-off box - BJP mounts attack on Cong Taking a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech to BJP lawmakers during the parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday speakers from the treasury benches launched a scathing attack on the Congress leadership during the opposition-sponsored motion on no-confidence in the Lok Sabha. The BJP's heavyweight speakers Kiren Rijiju and Nishikant Dubey took aim at the Congress in their speeches. Details on Page