New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech on no-confidence motion, said in Lok Sabha that peace will return to Manipur soon.
He said that the country is with the people of Manipur and everyone, together, will work to ensure peace returns soon. He blamed previous successive Congress governments in Manipur and the northeast for leaving behind an extremely unstable situation.
PM Modi also criticised the opposition for playing politics over the Manipur crisis, as opposition MPs walked out just as he started talking about the state, where over 180 have died in Meitei-Kuki ethnic clashes since May 3.
“The centre is working hard to give the harshest punishment to those involved in crimes in the Manipur violence. I request the people of Manipur – mothers, sisters, daughters – the country is with you. Together, we will face this difficulty and ensure peace returns. I promise the people of Manipur, the state will once again take the development journey,” PM Modi said.
“The northeast has suffered the most under the long rule of the Congress. Manipur, which has sacrificed so much for the country, never got its due from the Congress. There was a time in Manipur when everything used to be run by insurgents. Whose government was it that time?” PM Modi asked, to which National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs responded in unison, “Congress, Congress”.
The Prime Minister cited examples from history – the bombing of India’s own citizens using air force planes in Mizoram in 1966, and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s comment that appeared to surrender Assam to advancing Chinese forces in the 1962 war – in his criticism of the Congress.
PM Modi said Manipur has been developing fast in recent years, from road and rail infrastructure to businesses. “… The more we keep politics away, the faster peace will return,” he said.
