'You have set Manipur on fire': Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre in Lok Sabha

No confidence motion: Several words from Gandhi's speech were later expunged. Congress, late on Wednesday, called it "gross injustice"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said in the Lok Sabha that the Narendra Modi government has "set fire in Manipur". 

The Congress leader made the statement in his first speech in the Lok Sabha after being reinstated as the MP from Wayanad on August 7. He was reinstated three days after the Supreme Court (SC) stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case.
 

LIVE: Address to the Parliament | No Confidence Motion https://t.co/1FBUqftwJ9

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 9, 2023

Several words from Gandhi's speech were later expunged. Congress, late on Wednesday, called it "gross injustice". 

'One mother is sitting here, another mother (word expunged) in Manipur'

 

In his speech during the debate of no-confidence motion against the Centre, Gandhi said, “India is the voice of its people. You (expunged) that voice in Manipur. This means that you (expunged) Bharat Mata [Mother India] in Manipur. You are (expunged). My mother is sitting here. The other mother, Bharat Mata, you (expunged) in Manipur. That is why Prime Minister does not visit Manipur. You [BJP] are not protectors of Bharat Mata, you are her (expunged)."

'For PM Modi, Manipur is not in India'

The Congress leader added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit the violence-hit state as he does not consider it to be part of India. "The Prime Minister has not gone to Manipur because he doesn't consider it a part of India. You [BJP] have divided Manipur," Gandhi said, amid loud protests. 

He further alleged that the Centre can stop the violence in Manipur by calling in the Army, but has not acted yet.

'Set fire to Manipur'

Invoking the epic Ramayana, Gandhi said Ravana was not killed by Rama, but by his arrogance. "You have sprinkled kerosene everywhere, you have set fire to Manipur, you are now trying the same thing in Haryana," he said, referring to recent communal clashes in Gurugram and Nuh that killed six people.

No-confidence motion in Parliament

The Opposition INDIA alliance on Tuesday initiated a debate on a no-confidence motion against the Union government, saying that it did so in order to force PM Modi to speak about the situation in the northeastern state.

At least 187 people have been killed and nearly 60,000 have been forced to flee their homes in Manipur since violence broke out on May 3.

The state has reported cases of rape and murder, mobs have looted police armouries and set several homes on fire despite the heavy presence of central security forces.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who opened the debate on Tuesday, said that not just Manipur but the whole of India is burning. He added that the Opposition was seeking to break PM Modi’s “vow of silence” on the violence in Manipur.