‘Sad & Tragic To Watch PM Modi In Lok Sabha’

“We expect PM Modi to attend at least tomorrow’s all-party meeting,” Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh told reporters on Wednesday

On Friday, Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference in New Delhi that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday was all about himself, his dreams and his ambitions.

Rahul Gandhi said it was all about Modi, 2024, Congress, the Opposition, adding, “The issue was Manipur, not the Congress, the Opposition or Rahul Gandhi”.

Rahul Gandhi also observed that it was truly tragic watching the PM speak, joke and laugh in Parliament amidst chanting of slogans and his name.

He added, “The Prime Minister does not understand that he is not just a politician, that he is my Prime Minister, our Prime Minister… as Prime Minister, he should rise above politics and not behave as a party leader”.

In the context of his comment in Parliament on Wednesday that the government had “killed Bharat Mata” in Manipur, the Congress leader explained why he felt he was “compelled to say so”.

In a throwback to his Manipur visit, Rahul said that when he visited Kuki relief camps, he was advised to leave behind any Meitei security guards, who could be shot dead. And when he visited the Meitei camps, he was told to ensure that no Kuki accompanied him, even as part of his security detail, as they would be killed, he said. Rahul added, “Manipur as a state no longer exists. They have divided the state and the people; and that is why I say that they have killed Bharat Mata.”

Rahul explained that in his 19 years in politics, he has visited every state in the country every time there was a crisis but has never seen or heard of this kind of division and hatred. He added that he has been informed that the phrase “Bharat Mata”, which is an idea, has been expunged from his speech in the Lok Sabha proceedings. “One cannot even take the name of Bharat Mata in Parliament,” he observed.

Rahul claimed that he knows why Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot travel to Manipur; however, he cannot share the details of the same with the media. Rahul said that the least the Prime Minister could do was to speak.

“The Prime Minister could have laughed, mocked, made ridiculous statements about names some other time. If the Prime Minister wanted to ridicule me, Congress, or the Opposition, he could have done it in public rallies and outside Parliament. But he could have addressed Manipur with more seriousness,” Rahul added.

Meanwhile, when Rahul was reminded that in his speech, the Prime Minister had claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said all that had to be said about Manipur, he retorted by saying, “The home minister said that there was no need to remove the chief minister because he cooperated with all the decisions taken by the union government.” He added, “So, should we assume that the home minister wanted armouries in Imphal to be looted, arms to be carried by civilians, and the violence to continue for three months?”

When it was pointed out to Rahul that the Sansad TV focused on the face of the Speaker during much of the time the former spoke during the debate on the no-confidence motion, Rahul shrugged and said, “Well, it is possible that the Prime Minister does not want to see my face on TV. However, there is a contradiction because he still insists on commenting on my videos.”