New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Lok Sabha Wednesday condemned the violence committed against the two Manipuri women who were paraded naked and publicly molested on 4 May, but questioned why the video of the incident was made public days before Parliament was to convene for the Monsoon Session.
“What happened to those women was shameful. It would have been too anywhere else in the world. It is a blot on our society and no one can condone it,” Shah said.
He added that the incident took place on 4 May, but said its video surfaced only before Parliament was to sit on 20 July. “My journalist friends made me aware of that,” Shah told the House.
He asked why the video was not immediately handed over to the police. “Why make it public and humiliate the women further,” Shah asked, while replying Wednesday to the no-confidence vote that the Opposition has brought against the government.
The BJP leader said the perpetrators would have been caught the very next day if the video was given to the director general of police. “We arrested the perpetrators as soon as we got to know about the incident,” Shah added.
While speaking on the strife-torn state, Shah said he agreed with the Opposition’s charge that there had been “excessive violence” in Manipur. “In fact, we are more hurt than the Opposition. We should be ashamed as a society at what has happened. However, while the incidents are shameful, doing politics over it is more shameful,” he added.
The no-confidence motion – brought against the government to force a discussion on Manipur – will not affect the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which enjoys a strong majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition has said the motion was “the last resort” as it would at least compel the House to thoroughly discuss a burning issue in the country – in this case Manipur – and force a reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi will reply to the no-trust motion on Thursday before it goes to a vote.
Before his speech Wednesday, Amit Shah also met a collective of tribals from the state and heard their various demands.
The delegation of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) sought the resolution of five key demands, which included a plea for total separation from Manipur and the burial of the bodies of Kuki-Zo community members.
The bodies are currently lying in Imphal and the group has demanded they be brought to their native Churachandpur.
Also read: Agree there’s violence in Manipur. We are sad, but politics over it is shameful: Amit Shah