Rahul visits Wayanad, steps up attack on PM over raging Manipur violence

 BJP questions if he wants armed forces to fire at Indians

PTI, Wayanad (Kerala), Aug 12, 2023 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of not addressing the problem of Manipur even during the debate on the violence in the northerneastern state in Parliament a few days ago. Gandhi was addressing a meeting organised by the opposition Congress-led UDF alliance in Kalpetta here to welcome him on his first visit to Wayanad after his Lok Sabha membership was restored.

“He (Modi) spoke for 2 hrs 13 minutes. He laughed… he joked… he smiled… his cabinet laughed, joked and smiled… They had a lot of fun. The Prime Minister spoke two hours about everything… Congress, me about INDIA alliance — but spoke two minutes about Manipur,” Gandhi said. Lashing out at Modi, Gandhi said the BJP and the government led by it “murdered the idea of India” in Manipur.

“You have destroyed thousands of families. You have allowed the rape of thousands of women. You have allowed the murder of thousands of people. And as Prime Minister of the country, you are laughing?” he asked.

The Congress leader opined that anyone who murders the idea of India cannot be a nationalist.

Escalating his offensive against Modi, Gandhi further said: “You spent two minutes talking about the murder of Bharat Mata. How dare you do this? How can you dismiss the idea of India?” “What have you been doing for the last four months? Why have you not been there? Why have you not tried to stop the violence? Because you are not a nationalist. Anybody who murders the idea of India cannot be a nationalist,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, the BJP asked Rahul if he expected the armed forces to resort to shooting at Indians in violence-hit Manipur and claimed the Congress leader does  not  have  any  trace of democratic thought in his mind. 

Noting that the Congress leader had claimed that armed forces can restore peace in the state within two days if allowed, BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wondered if he wanted what his grandmother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had done  by ordering the Air Force to drop bombs in Aizawl in 1966. 

The Congress has said the Air Force was then used to target armed militant groups. Prasad asked: "Does Rahul Gandhi expect armed forces to fire upon Indians in Manipur where there is tension? Or should harmony be spread there and efforts be made to bring people together?" the senior BJP leader noted that there is a lot of tension in the state between two groups (Meitis and Kukis) and accused Gandhi of delivering an inciting speech in Parliament.     

Though some of his controversial references were expunged in Lok Sabha, Rahul reiterated his allegation at a press conference against the government that its politics had led to the "murder" of 'Bharat Mata' in Manipur. 

He neither understands the country nor its politics, Prasad said, asking Rahul Gandhi not to use such shameful  and irresponsible language. The BJP leader referred to the killings of Sikhs in the 1984 communal violence and the Nellie massacre in 1983 to ask how Rahul will describe them. It is the Congress which divided the country, he alleged. 

Taking a swipe at the Congress leader, Prasad said the former Congress chief owes his position to his family name and not to his abilities. He should not exhibit his incapabilities to the country every day, the BJP leader said. 

He also accused the opposition of behaving in an "utterly irresponsible" manner during the Monsoon session of Parliament by disrupting it frequently. 

The BJP leader attacked the Congress and its Leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for their criticism of his suspension from the House. Chowdhury constantly disrupted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply during the debate on the no-confidence motion, Prasad said and noted his reference to a fugitive to target the Prime Minister.