"Country is with you": PM Modi's message to Manipur

NEW DELHI: Asserting that state and central government are working to restore the peace in Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday ‘assured’ for strictest punishment for the accused indulged in crimes against women. “There are serious crimes against women and they are unforgivable," he added.

"Both the state and central governments are doing everything possible to ensure that the accused get the strictest punishment. I want to assure the people that peace will be restored in Manipur in the coming time,” PM Modi said while replying to the no-confidence motion against his government. He further said the country is with the people of Manipur. “I want to tell people of Manipur including women and daughters of Manipur that the country is with you,” he added. Notably, the Opposition has moved a no-confidence motion against the NDA government over the issue of Manipur. The Opposition has been demanding a statement from the PM inside the Parliament over Manipur. “Congress is asking us answers for Manipur violence, they are forgetting what Nehru ji did when Assam was attacked," PM Modi said.

He further said that the Opposition didn't have the courage and intention to discuss Manipur. "We had asked them (opposition) to come for a discussion on Manipur. The Home Minister had written a letter, asking them to hold a discussion on Manipur. But they didn't have the courage and intention. There was an intention to send a message of peace to the people of Manipur in Amit Shah's message,” the PM said. Meanwhile, Opposition MPs staged a walkout of the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks on the motion.

PM Modi, coming down heavily on the Opposition, especially on Congress said that their pain is ‘selective’ and they cannot think beyond politics. "Whose government was there in Manipur when everything used to happen according to the wishes of insurgent organisations? Whose government was there in Manipur when Mahatma Gandhi's picture was not allowed in government offices, whose government was there in Manipur when the decision to not allow the national anthem in schools was taken?... Their (opposition) pain is selective. They cannot think beyond politics...," he added. Modi tore into the Congress party during his reply to the debate on the no-confidence motion, saying the people of the country had no confidence in Congress. "People of the country have no confidence in Congress. Due to arrogance, they are not able to see the reality. In Tamil Nadu, they won in 1962 and since 1962 the people of Tamil Nadu are saying 'No Congress'. In West Bengal they won in 1972, people of West Bengal are also saying 'No Congress'. In UP, Bihar, and Gujarat they won in 1985 and the people of these states are also saying 'No Congress'...," the PM said.