Rahul Gandhi of the Congress claimed on Wednesday that the BJP’s politics in Manipur have “murdered Bharat Mata” and referred to BJP members as “traitors” as he launched a broadside at the Narendra Modi administration for its handling of the unrest in the northeastern state.
Gandhi also criticized Prime Minister Modi for not visiting Manipur and claimed that the PM does not consider the state to be a part of India during his first remarks in the House following the restoration of his membership on the second day of the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha, prompting a vehement response from the treasury benches.
The former head of the Congress also claimed that much as Ravan only listened to Meghnad and Kumbhakaran’s recommendations, the Prime Minister only hears from Amit Shah and Gautam Adani.
Gandhi displayed a vintage poster of Modi and Adani seated side by side in an airplane and declared, “Modi doesn’t listen to India’s voice but theirs (Adani group).” Gandhi spoke while the Prime Minister was absent from the House.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admonished Gandhi to use moderation when the treasury benches objected to the poster and noted that it was against the norms to display.
“Hanuman had not burnt down Lanka, Ravan’s arrogance did it. Ravan was not killed by Ram but by his arrogance,” Gandhi stated, referring to the Indian epic Ramayana.
“I went to Manipur a few days ago. Our Prime Minister has not gone there, he has not gone there till now. He does not consider Manipur part of India. I used the word Manipur, but the reality is that there is no Manipur left. You have divided Manipur into two parts, you have broken up Manipur,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi said he visited the state and met women and children at the relief camps, but the Prime Minister had not done so.
Describing his experience of visiting relief camps in the violence-hit state, he said, “I asked a woman about what happened to her and she replied that her small son, an only child, was shot before her eyes. She told me that she spent the whole night with the body of her child and then she felt afraid and left her house. When I asked her if she had brought along something with her, she responded ‘only the clothes she was wearing and a photo’.”
Gandhi further added”In another camp, when I asked another woman the same question about what happened to her, she started trembling and fainted.”
“These are the two examples. In Manipur, they (BJP) have murdered Hindustan. Their politics has not killed Manipur but killed Hindustan in Manipur. Hindustan has been murdered in Manipur,” he said.
“As I had said, India is a voice of the people. You killed that voice in Manipur. This means that you murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur,” Gandhi asserted amid banging of desks by opposition leaders.
Speaker Om Birla then said that “Bharat Mata is our mother” and asked Gandhi to speak in the House with caution.
Gandhi remarked in response to the Speaker’s comments: “I am talking about the murder of my mother in Manipur. I am speaking with respect that you murdered my mother in Manipur. My mother is sitting here. The other mother, Bharat Mata, you killed in Manipur,” he said directing towards Sonia Gandhi who was present in the House.
Gandhi went on to declare that the Army can bring peace to Manipur but that the administration is not using it in his almost 30-minute address, continuing his scathing criticism of the government.
In the Lok Sabha’s visitor’s gallery, a number of Congress’ Rajya Sabha MPs listened to him speak for the first time after being reinstituted as an MP.
“You are sprinkling kerosene everywhere. You sprinkled kerosene in Manipur and then added fire to it. You are now trying the same thing in Haryana. You are attempting to burn the country everywhere. You are murdering Bharat Mata throughout the country,” he said, referring to recent communal clashes in Gurugram and Nuh.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju said Gandhi should apologize for his comments because the Congress was to blame for the insurgency and other issues in the northeast as the treasury benches objected and criticized him.
During Gandhi’s address, members of several opposition parties went to the Well to denounce Rijiju’s remarks, and one of them was spotted pounding the Speaker’s desk.
Congress lawmakers were overheard threatening to interrupt Modi’s speech when he responds to the motion on Thursday from the Treasury benches.
