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‘Shameful blunders’: Supriya Sule demands resignation of Manipur CM Biren Singh
Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi initiated the discussion, saying the government which often speaks about “one India” had created two Manipur
NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule on Tuesday demanded that chief minister N Biren Singh resign for the “shameful blunders” in Manipur, which have led to more than 150 deaths since May 3.
“There have been shameful blunders of the state government in Manipur. I demand that just today after this, the chief minister must resign,” Sule said as she wrapped up her speech during the discussion on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government in the Lok Sabha.
Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi initiated the discussion, saying the government which often speaks about “one India” had created two Manipurs -- “one living in hills and the other in the valley”. PM Modi is expected to reply to the discussion on August 10.
The Opposition moved the no confidence motion over the handling of clashes between
the Kukis and Meiteis that first erupted in Manipur on May 3 during a protest against a court-ordered tweak to the state’s reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the latter. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders.
Sule said the Opposition brought the no-confidence motion against the government because it was representing the sentiment of the nation. Quoting American economist Milton Friedman’s emphasis on evaluating policies on the basis of outcomes rather than the intention , Sule said she did not intend to take away from the intention of the government but underlined that it was the outcomes that she had a problem with.
Sule, who launched a sharp attack at the central government, said India had fallen on multiple indices globally and taunted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for toppling nine state governments in nine years.
Gogoi, who led the Congress’s offensive, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking a vow of silence on crucial issues such as the ethnic violence in Manipur and recalled that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Gujarat after the 2002 communal riots.
“Why did he (Prime Minister Modi) take about 80 days to speak on Manipur and (he) just spoke for 30 seconds. After that there has been no peace appeal on Manipur from him. Ministers are saying they will speak, but as prime minister, the power of his words cannot be matched by ministers,” Gogoi said.
“When people were gasping for breath during the Covid second wave, the prime minister was seeking votes in West Bengal. When women were being assaulted in Manipur, the prime minister was seeking votes in Karnataka. What kind of nationalism is this that places power above the nation,” the deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha said, according to PTI.
