Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 9: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a resolution appealing for peace in strife-torn Manipur before the Lower House was adjourned for the day. The resolution was moved at the request of the union home minister Amit Shah after he intervened on the second day of the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government.
The speaker Om Birla tabled the resolution appealing for peace in Manipur. While Opposition members demanded PM Modi’s presence to vote on such a resolution, the motion was passed by a voice vote.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury following the conclusion of the Home Minister’s speech raised concerns about the absence of the Prime Minister. He remarked, “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?” To this, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated Home Minister Amit Shah’s request for a cumulative stance by the house urging peace in Manipur. He had also assured the opposition that Prime Minister would himself turn up for the discussion.
Whilst concluding his address, Amit Shah had urged infighting communities in Manipur to stop violence, come together for collective peace talks with the Indian government and help in rebuilding a prosperous Manipur and urged the House to pass a resolution to restore peace in Manipur.
The Day 2 of the no-confidence debate started in the Lok Sabha where Question Hour was disrupted over Opposition protests over Manipur and briefly adjourned till 12. Later, newly re-instated MP Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre saying, “You have murdered India in Manipur.” His fiery speech was countered by Union Minister Smriti Irani saying, “You are not India”. Several other Opposition MPs lashed out at the Modi government over the Manipur crisis, demanding the Prime Minister’s accountability.
Amit Shah while opposing the motion listed the achievements of the Modi government in the past nine years. He also briefed the House on the violence in Manipur – the reason for unrest, casualties, government action and the peace talks initiated. He also countered the Opposition’s claims on government toppling, ethnic violence and took a swipe at the INDIA coalition.
In the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition walked out to protest the government’s unwillingness to discuss Manipur violence at length as well as the Prime Minister’s non-availability in Parliament. The government passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023; Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023; and the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Upper House on Wednesday, in the absence of the Opposition.
The House earlier had seen multiple adjournments and protests during the day after beginning on a relatively calm note. Chaos continued after Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the arrest of Tushar Gandhi, and members continued to demand a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Manipur violence.
During his address on the motion, Amit Shah listing ethnic violence incidents in the past said, “Highest number of ethnic violent incidents happened during the rule of Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. We have always urged for peace even when we were in Opposition.” “We have made a peace committee. Over 36,000 security personnel have been stationed between Kukis and Meiteis as a buffer zone. The anger has not been doused yet but violence has reduced. A unified command has been created to co-ordinate between BSF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, Manipur police present there. Six cases of conspiracy has been handed over to CBI,” Shah briefed.
He added, “Food is being sent there, medical services is put in refugee camps, online education has begun for children in valley. We are trying to bring peace in the shortest time possible.” Pleading for peace, he says, “I urge both communities (Kukis and Meiteis) to sit with the Centre and talk to resolve the issue. We don’t wish to change the demography and stop infiltration. I am talking to them personally. Please do not politicise this.”
Shah primarily focussed on government’s welfare work for farmers, women and the poor. He also presented a report card of the Centre in terms of fighting Covid and the drugs menace. Shah said he has to focus on the government’s “achievements” since the No-Confidence Motion against the Narendra Modi government was “politically motivated.” The politics on Manipur, he said, is “shameful”. “They (the Congress) have done nothing for the Northeast, we have done that… For 10 years under UPA, nothing happened, he said, accusing the Congress of promoting infighting.
“Now there has been a 68 per cent 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,” Mr Shah said.
Alleging that the No-Confidence Motion was brought to “mislead people”, Amit Shah said, “For 30 years, the country was suffering from dynastic politics, corruption, and casteism and Modi finished all these and gave politics of performance to the country.”
“Post-Independence, if there is one leader whom India completely trusts it is PM Modi. This no confidence motion doesn’t reflect the people’s choice, it has been brought in only to disrupt,” he added. Unlike the Congress, the BJP will not resort to bribery to win, he said.