NEW DELHI, Sept 3: Asking the Centre to take full responsibility for what has happened in Manipur, Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam on Tuesday accused the government of being “complicit” in the crisis and likened its response to the laughter Draupadi faced when she was being insulted in the epic Mahabharat.
The Inner Manipur MP said despite the crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thinks he does not need to go there, which shows the “seriousness and indifference” to the suffering of the state.
“It is insulting… It is like Draupadi’s vastraharan, people were laughing as she was crying out. So, Manipur is crying out, for the insult, for the pain, and this not visiting amounts to that laughter. This amounts to insult and then you keep asking us to prove loyalty to the country. The suffering people are Indian citizens, these are not foreigners. Why shouldn’t he (PM) visit?” Akoijam, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, asked.
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Reacting to Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s remarks that the BJP’s loss in both Lok Sabha seats from Manipur was a reflection of his popularity, and not because his party was any less popular, the Congress MP told PTI, “He is trying to save his masters, nothing else. He protects Modi ji and Amit Shah ji despite the fact that it is the government of India which is failing to maintain law and order.”
“He defends PM Modi and Amit Shah. He claims that everything he has done is with the advice and consent of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji. If everything has been done with their consent, does that mean the firing and bombing of civilians are with the consent of the government of India? He is a classic example of a satrap… provincial head under the command of the lords in Delhi,” Akoijam said.
He said the entire country should demand that Modi should visit Manipur.
“Manipur is a part of India; if it weren’t part of India, I wouldn’t have asked,” he said.
There are 60,000 troops under the central government there but despite that violence has happened for the last 15 months and the country must demand that the prime minister should intervene and resolve this crisis, the Congress MP said.
Hitting out at Biren Singh for his remarks that he would not resign, Akoijam said whether he likes it or not, he and Modi have been presiding over a “tragedy called Manipur.”
The major player is the government of India and the chief minister is only a “rubber stamp” there, Akoijam alleged.
PM Modi’s decision to not visit the state despite the ongoing crisis will go down in the history of the country, he further added. (PTI)
