E-Paper
INDIA, NDA squabble over Manipur in no-trust debate
The Opposition focused on the violence in Manipur, and said that PM Modi had no respect for Parliament.
The debate on the no-confidence motion opened on a high pitch in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday with the Opposition attempting to corner the government on the violence in Manipur and rising prices of essentials, and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hitting back at fault lines within the INDIA grouping and past allegations of corruption.
In a high-decibel six-hour debate peppered with disruptions, 11 speakers from the Opposition and 11 from the ruling alliance took the floor in what was the second no-confidence motion faced by the Narendra Modi government, and the first in this term. With a brute majority of 330 in the Lower House, the government faces no numerical threat for the Opposition, which said that it had to use a no-confidence motion as it was the only way to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak in Parliament.
The Opposition focused on the violence in Manipur, where at least 160 people have died and 40,000 displaced in ethnic violence that has spanned three months, and said that Modi had no respect for Parliament. Gaurav Gogoi, an MP from Assam, opened the debate and questioned why Modi maintained silence on Manipur and demanded that the state’s chief minister N Biren Singh be sacked.
“Why didn’t the PM go to Manipur till date? Rahul Gandhi went there, the Union home minister and the minister of state for home visited Manipur. Why not the PM?” he said.
“If Manipur is burning, then India is burning. If Manipur is divided, India is divided…I can understand why the PM is silent. He must admit his double- engine government has failed,” Gogoi added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who returned to the Lok Sabha after 137 days on Monday, was scheduled to open the debate, but some strategists said the Congress changed plans as Gandhi wanted Gogoi, an MP from northeast India, to start, although another theory is that the party wants Gandhi to face off against Modi on Thursday. “Gandhi changed the plan to surprise the government,” a party strategist said, asking not to be named.
The government’s first speaker, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Nishikant Dubey, hit back, sidestepping the Manipur question and instead targeting the Gandhi family, highlighting the historical differences and conflicts between the various constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
He said former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi consistently attempted to set her son, Rahul Gandhi, up, and take care of cases against her son-in-law (he did not name Robert Vadra), and insisted that the motion was actually a vote by the Opposition to see “who supports them”.
“In 1976 , the Congress dismissed the Karunanidhi government and in 1980 when the Indira Gandhi government came back, the DMK supported it. Aap karein to raaslila hum karein to character dheela (If you do it is fine, if we indulge in it our character is questioned),” Dubey said. He cited the Congress targeting the Trinamool Congress over corruption and also Rashtriya Janata Dal founder Lalu Prasad going to jail to highlight the differences in the Opposition ranks.
Dubey also targeted Rahul Gandhi over his statement that he will not apologise for his Modi surname remark ahead of the 2019 elections. “Why would he apologise? Modi is a low caste, an OBC [other backward classes]. Why would you apologise to OBCs?” Dubey asked sarcastically.
The Congress and other Opposition parties raised objections against the government news appearing as tickers in the Sansad TV channel during the live telecast. They argued that when the no-confidence motion is being debated, why the Sansad TV is showing the government’s achievements.
The Opposition’s arguments were supported by DMK’s TR Baalu, Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule, Congress’s Manish Tewari, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, Trinamool Congress’s Saugata Ray ,Samajwadi Party’s Dimple Yadav and RSP’s NK Premachandran. The government was supported by earth sciences minister Kiren Rijiju, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, independent lawmaker Navneet Rana and BJP’s Sunita Duggal. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), represented by Pinaki Mishra, also backed the government.
Manipur was a common thread connecting the Opposition speakers, who flagged concerns over the situation in Manipur, referring to the brutal assault of two Kuki women in the northeastern state.
SP leader Dimple Yadav said the incident amounted to a “violation and destruction of human rights”.
“Using women for purporting violence is simply not acceptable in a constitutional democracy,” she said.
Ray argued that a “heartless” Union government sent several delegations to West Bengal but only one to Manipur. “The Manipur situation reminds us of the ethnic violence in Rawanda. Are we living in a civilised country where this should happen to our sisters?” Ray said.
Yadav maintained the video of atrocities against two Kuki women amounts to “violation and destruction of human rights” and cautioned that “using women for purporting violence is simply not acceptable in a constitutional democracy.” She maintained the Manipur situation has arisen out of a “state-sponsored ethnic violence” that has been condemned by the world.
From the government, Rijiju said that at a time when Modi emerged as the world leader and the country was marching to become a developed nation by 2047, there was no need for such a motion against the government. Instead, he said, the Opposition should join hands with the government to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (marking 75 years of Independence).
“Congress and Opposition parties will regret bringing in the no-confidence motion at the wrong time and in a wrong manner,” the minister said.
“The wild allegation by the opposition that prime minister didn’t pay attention to Manipur is not correct as lots of development took place in the state by the Modi government,” Rijiju said. “Prime minister has won the trust of people of northeastern states.”
“Nothing will happen by naming the alliance I.N.D.I.A when you are actually working against India.”
