New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday defended Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh — who has been in the eye of a storm for failing to control the ethnic clashes that have gripped the state since 3 May — in Lok Sabha and said that he will not be removed from his post.
Speaking during the debate on the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition bloc ‘INDIA’ against the Narendra Modi-led Union government, Shah told the House that the need to change a CM arises when he does not cooperate. “This CM is cooperating,” he said.
There has been a growing clamour from different sections including the Opposition for Biren Singh’s resignation for failing to control the violence that has engulfed the small northeastern state for over three months now.
Reiterating that Article 356 (President’s Rule) has not been imposed in Manipur, Shah said: “Article 356 is imposed when the state government doesn’t cooperate during violence. We changed the DGP, they accepted the Centre’s DGP. We changed the chief secretary, they accepted the chief secretary we sent. The need to change a chief minister arises when he doesn’t cooperate.”
This is the first time Shah made a comprehensive statement in Parliament on Manipur since the monsoon session commenced on 20 July. The Opposition coalition ‘INDIA’ has disrupted Parliament proceedings since day one of the session, demanding that the PM make a statement on Manipur in the House.
Accusing the Opposition of playing politics over Manipur, Shah — who spoke for over two hours, his longest speech in Parliament till date — questioned why the viral video of two Manipuri women being paraded naked on 4 May was leaked on social media just a day before the monsoon session started.
“This is a very unfortunate incident and it is a shame for society. But why did this video come before the start of this Parliament session? If someone was having this video they should have given it to the DGP, and action would have been taken on that day itself…,” he said.
He went on to say that had the video been handed over immediately, the government would have arrested the culprits the next day. The home minister informed the House that soon after the video surfaced, the police identified nine people in the video and arrested them.
Shah also told the House that 152 people have lost their lives till now but the violence is gradually reducing. He said that so far, 14,898 people have been arrested and 1,106 FIRs have been lodged. He informed the Lok Sabha of the measures his government has taken to address the situation. However, the minister conceded that the situation in Manipur continues to be unstable.
Appealing to both the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki communities for peace, Shah told the House that the government does not have any plans to change the demography of the state.
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‘Ready for Manipur debate from day 1’
Urging the Opposition to not add fuel to the fire, Shah mentioned how, during his visit to Manipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had insisted on visiting Churachandpur by road. “…we had arranged a helicopter for him. The country witnessed the whole drama on TV. The next day, he went on to use the helicopter, but he couldn’t do that before because he wanted to showcase his protest. Such kind of politics shouldn’t be done in a time of crisis,” the home minister said.
Shah said that the Opposition is trying to spread the misconception that the government does not want to debate on Manipur: “…I was ready for the Manipur debate from day one but they only wanted to oppose it. How can you stop the Home Minister from putting his statement in the House?”
He also used the opportunity to give a ‘report card’ of his government. He said that the Opposition might have moved a no-confidence motion but the people of this country have full confidence in the Modi government.
Shah said that the Modi government has worked for the benefit of all sections of the populace, be it the poor, marginalised, women, farmers. Citing the north-east region, he said that for 10 years during UPA rule, nothing happened. “Now there has been a 68 percent decline in incidents of violence… Infrastructural development reduced time and distance. PM Modi went to the northeast over 50 times in 9 years. He connected northeast to India,” he said.
Shah said that it’s a foregone conclusion that the no-confidence motion will be defeated in Lok Sabha Thursday. He cited how Congress had resorted to “bribery” to win a no-confidence when P. V. Narasimha Rao was the PM.
“When Narasimha Rao was in power, a no-confidence Motion was brought. The Congress wanted to save the government and they won the motion. JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) and several leaders were bribed. Many leaders were jailed after it came to light that leaders were bribed,” Shah said.
He further said that “unlike the Congress”, in 1999, during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, “instead of resorting to bribing leaders, BJP presented its case in the House and lost the motion by one vote”. This, he said, speaks about the character of his party.
Soon after Shah finished his address, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury questioned the PM’s absence from the House: “It is not as if we doubt the home minister’s abilities, but when a question seeks answers from a district collector, why is a kotwal (inspector) turning up?”
Responding to this, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated Shah’s request for a cumulative stance by the House urging peace in Manipur. Following this, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tabled a resolution appealing for peace in Manipur. Though opposition members demanded the PM’s presence to vote on such a resolution, the motion was passed through voice vote.
Earlier in the day, MPs from different opposition parties including the DMK, Trinamool Congress, JD(U) among others launched a blistering attack on the Modi government over a host of issues including Manipur, growing unemployment and federalism among others.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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