Rahul Gandhi rips into Indian PM Modi over Manipur violence
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[August 09, 2023]
By YP Rajesh
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday
mounted a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's handling of
the deadly ethnic conflict in Manipur, saying his government had divided
the remote northeastern state, broken it and burnt it.
More than 180 people have been killed, many hundreds more wounded and
tens of thousands rendered homeless in Manipur since May, but Modi
failed to publicly address the violence until last month in a state
controlled by his own Hindu nationalist party.
Addressing parliament for the first time since his reinstatement on
Monday as a lawmaker, Gandhi poured scorn on what he called the divisive
policies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a debate on a
no-trust vote against Modi's government.
"You have killed mother India in Manipur," Gandhi said as opposition
lawmakers thumped their desks and their government counterparts booed
him.
"You have divided it, broken it," said Gandhi, who was disqualified from
parliament in March after he was convicted for defamation until the
Supreme Court last week suspended the conviction, allowing him to be
reinstated.
The no-trust vote is not expected to impact the stability or the
popularity of Modi's government as it enjoys a strong majority and is
expected to win a third term in a general election next year.
However, it hopes to draw out Modi to speak in detail and embarrass him
over the violence that has led the United States and the European
parliament to express concern.
The three-day debate and vote which began Tuesday also come a month
before Modi hosts G20 leaders for the annual summit in New Delhi, where
he aims to showcase India’s leadership of the Global South.
VISIT TO MANIPUR
Gandhi, who spoke in Hindi, said the Indian army could bring peace to
Manipur in one day but is not being used, "because you want to kill
India in Manipur", addressing the government side.
New Delhi has rushed tens of thousands of additional security forces to
the state of 3.2 million people but sporadic violence continues.
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Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India's
main opposition Congress party, arrives at the parliament after he
was reinstated as a lawmaker, in New Delhi, India, August 7, 2023.
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
The clashes erupted over the BJP state government potentially
extending special benefits to the mostly Hindu ethnic majority
Meiteis. Those benefits have been reserved for minority, mostly
Christian, Kuki tribals in the state.
The state government denies accusations by the Kukis and political
rivals that it failed to act more forcefully to quell the trouble.
Gandhi, scion of a dynasty that has given India three prime
ministers, recalled his visit to Manipur in June and his experiences
of meeting women in relief camps there, something, he said, "our
prime minister has not done so far".
"Our prime minister has not gone to Manipur because for him Manipur
is not in India," Gandhi said.
"You are pouring kerosene over the entire country. You threw
kerosene in Manipur and lit a spark, now you are doing that in
Haryana, you are burning the entire country," he said, referring to
Hindu-Muslim clashes in the northern state of Haryana last week in
which seven people have been killed.
BJP-ruled Haryana, on the fringes of New Delhi, has blamed the
violence on Muslim mobs attacking a Hindu religious procession and
called it a larger conspiracy.
Modi was not present in parliament when Gandhi spoke but he is due
to address it on Thursday before it is put to vote.
Modi had not made any public comments about the conflict until last
month when videos showing women being paraded naked and molested in
Manipur surfaced and sparked national outrage.
He called the assault of women "shameful" and that his heart was
filled with pain and anger and promised tough action.
(Reporting by YP Rajesh; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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