Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” over Manipur in Parliament and asked him to make a statement in Parliament on the situation in the northeastern state.
Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, also said that Opposition parties’ demand for a statement from PM Modi is “justified”.
“Demand of Opposition parties is justified…the PM must make a statement in Parliament on the current situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. There is no sign of an end to the violence. Innocent people are being killed…women are being brutally tortured,” Kumar told reporters here.
The assault on women in Manipur is “horrific and shocking”, he said.
“Women were paraded naked. Such incidents are highly condemnable. The PM must make a statement on Manipur in Parliament”, he said.
Tension mounted in Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced last week, showing two women from one of the warring communities in the northeastern state being paraded naked by a mob from the other side.
The Manipur Police have so far arrested six people in connection with the incident.
More than 160 people have lost their lives and several were injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
Asked about the PM’s recent remark that the NDA would return to power for a third consecutive term, Kumar said, “After the formation of Opposition parties’ coalition, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre has become nervous. BJP leaders are now scared of the Opposition’s alliance. Let them say whatever they are saying and they talk rubbish.”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on July 18 slammed the new opposition front, saying alliances built on negativity have never succeeded and asserting that the NDA will return to power for a third consecutive term, bagging more than 50 per cent of the vote share.
Addressing a meeting of the 39 NDA constituents, Modi said the ruling alliance recently completed 25 years, which was the legacy of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shaped by L K Advani, who continued to guide the group.
Reacting to the NDA meeting recently held in New Delhi, Kumar said, “They are now scared of opposition unity. NDA meetings used to take place during Atal ji’s tenure…after that, there was no NDA at all. Now, they are holding meetings of the NDA allies only because we have formed a coalition of opposition parties.”
Setting the tone for their 2024 Lok Sabha polls campaign, 26 opposition parties had on July 18 formed a coalition — Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) — to unitedly take on the ruling NDA., with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asserting that the fight will be “between INDIA and PM Modi”.
PTI
PM must make statement on Manipur in Parliament: Nitish
