Manipur crisis: 'PM would be forced to respond during no-confidence motion'

CHENNAI: CPI general secretary D Raja on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to respond to the Manipur violence issue when the opposition parties move a no-confidence motion in the Parliament.

The intention of the no-confidence motion to be brought by the opposition against the Narendra Modi government was to ensure the presence of the Prime Minister in the House and respond to the Manipur violence, he told reporters at CPI state headquarters here. He later took part in a protest at Mint against the Manipur violence.

“The ruling BJP has been maintaining that Prime Minister would not reply (to the debate on Manipur violence) and Home Minister Amit Shah will reply. This has led to stalling of the winter session of the Parliament proceedings. Now Prime Minister have to speak. PM is the head of the government, not the Home Minister. PM should be present in the Hosue and he should face the arguments,” he said.

He said that BJP was trying to deny the opposition its responsibility of holding the government and the Prime Minister accountable. “Now the issue of Manipur violence would be raised during the no-confidence motion and Modi has to respond to it,” he said.

Raja blamed the ruling BJP for the stalling of the second successive Parliament session. “The budget session was stalled as the BJP refused to accept the opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe over the Adani issue. Now the Manipur issue in this session,” he said.

Pointing to Modi’s claim of a double-engine government at the centre and state offers development, Raja asked what happened to the double-engine government in Manipur and who is responsible for the ongoing violence. He accused the BJP of carrying out politics of polarisation on religious lines for the Manipur violence. He said that Manipur chief minister Biren Singh should either resign or his government should be dismissed.

CPI leader also noted that Manipur police has registered an FIR on National Federation of Indian Women general secretary Annie Raja and other officer bearers under various non-bailable sections including sedition following their visit to the state. He also pointed to the apprehension among the people that the violence was incited to clear the tribal people from the hilly areas for mining.

“Due to the stalling of the Parliament, none of the issues could be raised,” he said, adding that to save the country from the disaster, the opposition-led INDIA front called upon the people to defeat the BJP and its allies in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls next year.