Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he must give an elaborate statement on the Manipur violence in the Parliament, not just on the video, which showed two women being paraded naked, but also on the violence which has grappled the north-eastern state since May 3.
In a tweet, Kharge wrote, “You did not make a statement inside the Parliament, yesterday.”
“If you were angry then instead of making false equivalence with Congress-governed states, you could have first dismissed your Chief Minster of Manipur.”
The Prime Minister, ahead of the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in his customary address to the media, on Wednesday said that the incident in Manipur had “pained” him.
“Be it Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Manipur or any part of the country, maintaining law and order and respecting women should be above politics,” he added, which drew sharp reactions from Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh respectively.
Kharge further added, “INDIA expects you to make an elaborate statement in the Parliament today, not just on one incident, but on the 80-day violence that your government in the state and the Centre has presided upon, looking absolutely helpless and remorseless.”
Meanwhile, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram demanded that President’s Rule should be imposed in Manipur.
“Every section has lost confidence in Chief Minister N Biren Singh. He was silent for seven days after May 3. He says that he came to know about the May 4 incident only when the video became viral. This government must go, Article 355 must be applied, consequently, President’s Rule should be imposed in Manipur,” said the former finance minister.
“The central government must protect every state from internal disturbance or external aggression. A President’s Rule give an option for some seasoned administrators to go there and try to bring the situation under control,” he added.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts.