Union Home Minister’s two-plus hour speech in parliament — one of the longest — does not appear to have satisfied the opposition. The Congress, in particular, appeared to be in no mood to back off from the demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi address the House on the Manipur situation. The party’s stance became clear with a quip from Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, its leader in the Lok Sabha, shortly after Amit Shah’s speech.
We have been demanding a discussion (on Manipur) since Day One, not today, Congress leaders said. ‘We have been asking for the Prime Minister to come to parliament and begin the discussion. We never said that we doubt the competence of Home minister Amit Shah. But I’d say this much — how can a policeman answer a query that should be answered by the District Collector,’ he added amid loud guffaws from opposition leaders.
Addressing the Lower House during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the BJP government, Rahul Gandhi said, ‘You are traitors… That is why Prime Minister does not visit Manipur. You are not protectors of Bharat Mata…The Prime Minister has not gone to Manipur because he doesn’t consider it a part of India. You (BJP) have divided Manipur,” Mr Gandhi said, amid loud protests from the treasury benches. He alleged that the centre can stop the violence in Manipur by calling in the Army, but has not acted yet. ‘
