Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday over the situation in Manipur and said "INDIA will not stay silent while the idea of India is being attacked" in the northeastern state. Gandhi's remarks came after a video shot on May 4 surfaced on Wednesday, showing two women being paraded naked in ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
Police said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder has been registered at the Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district against unidentified armed miscreants. "PM's silence and inaction has led Manipur into anarchy. INDIA will not stay silent while the idea of India is being attacked in Manipur," Gandhi said in a tweet.
"We stand with the people of Manipur. Peace is the only way forward," he added. Twenty-six opposition parties formed a front -- Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) -- on Tuesday to unitedly take on the ruling BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also reacted to the video, saying the pictures of "sexual violence against women" emerging from Manipur are heart-wrenching. "No amount of condemnation is enough for this horrific incident of violence against women. Women and children have to bear the maximum brunt of violence in the society," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
"We must all condemn the violence in one voice while furthering the efforts for peace in Manipur," Priyanka Gandhi said. "Why has the central government, Mr Prime Minister turned a blind eye to the violent incidents in Manipur? Do such pictures and violent incidents not disturb them?" she asked.
Mahila Congress chief Netta D'Souza said, "Humanity has died a thousand deaths! If this BJP govt can't stop women from being shamed and humiliated, from being paraded naked, it simply be dismissed." What is stopping the Modi government from imposing the President's Rule in Manipur, she asked on Twitter.
