PM should give details on stand taken on Manipur violence in Parl: TMC

Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and state Women and Child Development and Social Welfare minister Shashi Panja on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur issue and demanded that the Centre should send fact-finding teams to Manipur.

During a press conference on Saturday, Panja alleged that the Modi government did not take any steps to address the Manipur issue. She said: “PM Modi is busy doing ‘Mann Ki Baat’, but doesn’t have time to do ‘Manipur Ki Baat’.”

“The PM should stand in Parliament and detail the steps taken to address violence in Manipur. Why hasn’t the National Commission for Women & National Human Rights Commission reached Manipur yet? Why are these commissions only active in non-NDA states?”

She further asked: “BJP wastes no time in sending fact-finding teams to Bengal to probe non-existent violence, yet not even one fact-finding team has been sent to Manipur. Why is it so? Why is the double-engine government in Manipur silent? Don’t they have any apathy towards the citizens of Manipur?”

She also said: “We have seen that since May 3, 2023, the state of Manipur has been ravaged by violence. These acts have been condemned by each and every citizen of our country and yet the Prime Minister kept quiet. We waited for our Prime Minister to speak up on Manipur, but it took him over 70 days to say a word about the troubled state. It was only on May 20, when the Monsoon session of Parliament began that the Prime Minister spoke briefly about the violence in Manipur from the ramparts of the Parliament House. The PM made a three-line statement on Manipur that lasted for mere 36 seconds. Even during his brief statement, he tried equating the horrendous act of Manipur with other States, and asked the Chief Ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to maintain law and order in their states.”

She added: “We are seeking the Prime Minister to address the House and the nation on the Manipur violence, but it has been two days, yet the PM and BJP MPs have paid no heed to the Oppositions’ pleas. This is extremely shameful. The Central government, on the other hand, is ignoring reality.

We are questioning accountability? Who is accountable for the condition Manipur is in? Is it the state government or the Prime Minister or the Home minister? A delegation of five leaders from Trinamool visited Manipur to take purview of the state.”

Reacting to BJP’s allegation that two tribal women were stripped and assaulted in Malda, Panja said: “Does BJP have the moral right to talk about violence? They have only been instigating violence everywhere.

In Malda, the women of the region made attempts to take the law into their own hands when they caught two women stealing. BJP leader Amit Malviya has no right to politicise the incident at his own convenience.

He should be questioned why he disseminated fake news on the Howrah incident. His Twitter account was flagged for spreading fake news and he is doing the same thing again and again. The Trinamool Congress hit back at BJP saying that the women were at the receiving end of public outrage after they were caught stealing.”

Trinamool Congress tweeted: “@BJP4India’s policy of neglecting the nation’s alarming issues has not remained under the cover from anyone. Despite being aware of Manipur’s horrific situation, PM @narendramodi was recently spending a gala time overseas. What’s more shocking is that an extensive amount of Rs. 254.87 Cr. has been spent on his 71 foreign trips since 2014, while the country has continued to suffer from poverty, inflation and unemployment.”

“The diversionary tactic employed by BJP MPs & MLAs today is nothing new. For the past 9 years, BJP has used whataboutery to shirk off responsibilities & deflect attention from important issues. But, BJP’s favourite trope of evading accountability by pointing fingers elsewhere will no longer work. INDIA will not allow the cries from Manipur to drown in the clamour of fake news propagated by BJP,” Trinamool further tweeted.

“NCRB figures show BJP-ruled Assam is the highest when it comes to violence against women. Even overall, crimes against women across the country rose by 15.3%, from 3.71 lakh cases in 2020 to 4.28 lakh cases in 2021,” Trinamool Congress added.