Opposition women MPs attack Centre on Manipur in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) A slew of women opposition MPs on Wednesday attacked the Narendra Modi government for its failure to curb the violence in Manipur.

Participating in the discussion on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, DMK's K Kanimozhi sought to know whether the Centre was indeed nationalist in its outlook, as it had failed to do anything on the Manipur situation.

She highlighted the pitiable condition of relief camps where displaced persons are being kept in Manipur, saying that the conditions there are inhuman.

"There are hundreds of relief camps (in Manipur) but no food. People are living in fear. We went there to tell them that India stands with them," Kanimozhi said.

"We went there to say - INDIA (the opposition bloc) stands with you (people of Manipur). We would like to see if the government stands with them," she added.

Kanimozhi went on to criticise the BJP-led government, labelling it as a “shame” that a state within the country is enduring such violence. Citing the viral video of two women paraded naked during the ethnic conflict in the state, she said: "The incident occurred in May, yet no action was taken.

"You (PM Narendra Modi) brought the sengol to the new Parliament, saying it belongs to the Chola tradition. You don't know Tamil Nadu history properly. Have you heard about Pandyan sengol? Please stop imposing Hindi on us and read Cilappatikaram, it has a lot of lessons to teach you all," she added.

Trinamool Congress member Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, while participating in the discussion on the no-confidence motion, said that the nation is seeing an unforeseen betrayal to democracy.

She pointed out that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was “denied permission” to visit the strife-torn Manipur. Dastidar said that the “double-engine government” is not working, citing the Manipur situation and the recent violence in Haryana's Nuh.

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that the Centre remembers anti-Sikh riots as per its convenience otherwise it's not bothered about minorities.

She attacked both the Centre and the opposition, the latter for its "past crimes" and the former for its inaction in Manipur. Badal said that the current BJP-led dispensation did not bother to visit Manipur, and sought to know the reason behind it.