‘Congress running battle against Manipur because of BJP’: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's jibe

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma criticised the Congress for focusing only on the atrocities in Manipur due to “BJP's rule in the state.”

As Congress is massively slamming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the atrocities on women in Manipur, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday took a jibe at the opposition party saying their concern should “not only be restricted to Manipur”.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, “Congress is running a battle against Manipur because Manipur is being run by a BJP government…Congress party should also think about the serious crime against women going on in Rajasthan and West Bengal. They should not target the state of Manipur. It is a peace-loving state.”

Speaking about the horrifying May 4 video showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men, Sarma said that the video was leaked due to “political involvement.”

“The case was registered long back, video was available. It (the video) was leaked a day before the commencement of the Parliament session. So, some kind of political things are involved,” he said.

The Assam CM then added, “Irrespective of the date of release of the video, the incident should be condemned, culprits should be punished - on that, I have no issue. But you should not defame the entire Manipur or Northeast. If you compare rape incidents of West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh against Manipur, it's less in Manipur.”

Manipur shocker and national outrage

A national outrage sparked on Wednesday after the horrifying video went viral on social media, with the opposition demanding the BJP government's removal, Manipur CM N Biren Singh's resignation, and the imposition of President's Rule in the state. Massive sloganeering and protests also rocked the monsoon session of the Parliament on Thursday and Friday over the Manipur situation, with the opposition demanding a discussion and a statement from PM Modi in the Houses.

Earlier in the day, all four arrested accused, who were allegedly part of a mob that paraded and assaulted the women, have been remanded to 11-day police custody. Meanwhile, police officers told HT that more arrests are to follow as the investigating team has identified at least eight more men who were involved in the incident.