Kani raises concerns over safety of women in country

CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) deputy general secretary and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi believes Prime Minister Narendra Modi or at least the Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh has lost the right to continue in office.

In this fireside chat with K Karthikeyan of DT Next, the senior DMK leader revealed her thoughts on a host of issues including the split in NCP and Shiv Sena and the chance of the Opposition alliance and ED assault on the DMK leaders.

The BJP accuses the Opposition of deliberately disrupting Parliament despite Prime Minister making a statement on Manipur. Do you see the logjam ending anytime soon?

• We are not saying Prime Minister must not speak outside Parliament. When Parliament is in session, it is his duty to make a statement in the House. Whatever he spoke outside, he must have said the same inside Parliament too. Also, why did you (PM) not talk before? Wasn’t it possible for the government to have known about it when the FIR was filed? It is BJP which is in power in Manipur. When a conflict is going on and lives are lost and women are assaulted and raped, it is the duty of the Union and State to know what is happening. Villages were burned, women were harassed and raped, and their own family members were killed for trying to protect them. One of the victim’s family members (husband) is in the army protecting the country. You cannot say the police did not know because the police were there when the women were dragged, raped, and killed. What did the police do so many days after the FIR was filed? Who takes responsibility for the silence and days of inaction?

Are you suggesting that there was deliberate silence or inaction on the part of the BJP-led Centre and the State government in Manipur?

•You have no business being ignorant of what is happening. If you are party to this, what has become of the things you have been talking about the country, “pride of India or daughters of the country.” We have seen what happened in the Brij Bushan case. Exactly the same thing is happening in Manipur. This conflict has been flamed by the party (BJP). They have been very irresponsible. It started on May 3 and months have passed. You are calling yourself Vishwaguru. When there are communal clashes happening here and women are treated in an inexplicable way, what is the point in talking about the pride of the nation?

Do you claim that the PM Modi or Manipur CM has lost the right to continue?

•Definitely. They do not have the right to continue. At least the CM of Manipur must take responsibility.

How confident are you that the Union govt would oblige? The government insists on having a time-bound brief debate.

•The entire state is burning. We have come to know of three women abused there. The Chief Minister himself says that 100s of incidents happened. He says in such a light way. Like Chief Justice, he says they will be hung. The Chief Minister’s duty is to protect the people, not give out judgments. Who are you to do that? Who is the BJP to tell the Opposition that we will give you stipulated time and you could have a brief discussion? You think when an entire state is burning and so many people have been killed and women abused, it deserves only a little debate in the Parliament. We are all representatives of the people who are worried about what is happening in Manipur.

But, some key bills have been passed without debate in Parliament. Do you really expect the government to yield? Again, considering the history of not allowing debates on crucial issues, what chances does Manipur stand now?

•Yes. We know, no bills are debated. No discussion is allowed in the Parliament. The PM does not answer in Parliament. We will not give up. We will fight. You must debate it in Parliament. That is the minimum justice you could start with, for the people of Manipur, mainly the women there.

What is your assessment of the National Commissioner for Women, mainly its member Khushbu Sundar and BJP Mahila unit national president Vanathi Srinivasan’s reaction to the issue? The NCW denies receiving a complaint on July 12 even…

•When somebody in the party insulted her (Khusbhu), our Chief Minister took action against his own cadre. He was arrested. I am very disappointed, as a friend, with Khushbu. I did not expect this out of her. We have come to understand clearly that NCW will only react only when incidents happen in the states ruled by the Opposition parties. This commission, like ED, will use it against political opponents (of the BJP). PM himself says all State governments must take action when his own party, his own Union and State governments could not protect the women.

The Union Minister for Women and Child Rights, a vocal critic of the previous govts during the Nirbhaya case, is relatively silent. Did you try to take it up with her as a colleague?

•I did not speak to her personally. We tried to raise it in Parliament. She was in Lok Sabha. I don’t think she insisted on a debate or wanted to support people who wanted a debate. BJP can be very efficient when they want to. We saw it in the Rahul Gandhi case. If they were efficient in Manipur, the whole conflict could have been prevented.

Do you suspect that the BJP contributed to the violence? Some people interpret it as a repeat of the 2002 Gujarat violence.

•Time and again, we have been saying that this is what the BJP does. They divide and rule by creating conflicts between people on the basis of caste and religion. As long as they (BJP) are in power or this kind of politics is allowed to continue nobody is safe, including women and children.

Incidents like Manipur, Hathras, or Unnao get easily diverted. Another ED or CBI raid or another major development buries it in the mainstream?

•That is the way they (BJP) have been functioning. The Opposition understood it is important to protect the nation more than individuals. It is important to get justice for everybody.

Your party has been the target of ED-like central agencies. Closer to the election do you foresee a bigger ED or CBI onslaught?

•Our leader is aware of it. I don’t think it will stop him or the party from doing its duty. This is not the first time we have been targeted. We have always had the guts and withstood it and fought it. There was a cartoon in a newspaper recently portraying the ED, CBI, and IT as allies walking in with the PM for a meeting. They are the true allies of the BJP.

What are your chances in the upcoming election? Will INDIA be intact and work well in other states? You already have alliance parties breaking away in Maharashtra….

•In any party, there are people who have different opinions. In a democracy, it is always allowed. Mr. Sharad Pawar started the party. The party and the people are with him. He is with INDIA.

Will Ajit Pawar or Eknath Shinde spoil INDIA’s chances?

•People know who to trust and who not to trust. We are confident that the people will want a change after what has been happening here. I am very confident there will be change.