- Thursday, February 27, 2025
Speaking ahead of the inauguration of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament, Modi said action would be taken as per law and what happened to the “daughters of Manipur” could never be forgiven.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (20) expressed shock over the horrific video of two women being paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob in the violence-rocked north-eastern state of Manipur in May before allegedly gang-raped.
A video of the incident became viral on Wednesday (19), causing outrage across the country.
Speaking at the start of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. https://t.co/39Rf3xmphJ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 20, 2023
Speaking on the matter before the start of the monsoon session of the Indian parliament on Thursday, Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in Manipur, said he wanted to assure the nation that the guilty would not be spared. He said action would be taken as per law and what happened to the “daughters of Manipur” could never be forgiven.
“As I stand next to this temple of democracy, my heart is filled with pain and anger. The Manipur incident is shameful for any civilised nation. The entire country has been shamed,” Modi added while standing before the new parliament building which he inaugurated in May.
The video of the women being paraded naked triggered massive condemnation. The incident reportedly took place a day after ethnic clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities broke out in the state over the demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
The women were allegedly molested and gang-raped after being dragged to a field.
The first arrest related to the incident took place on Thursday, 77 days after the crime took place.
Modi also referred to incidents in other states such as Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, both of which are ruled by the opposition Indian National Congress and will head to elections later this year.
He appealed to the chief ministers of the state to strengthen law and order in their respective states, especially when it comes to the women, and take strictest action. He said it was important to rise above politics and act against heinous crimes in every corner of the country.
Opposition parties demanded Modi’s statement in the parliament over the incident in Manipur where ethnic violence has claimed more than 100 lives so far and rendered several thousand homeless.
Around 15 parliamentarians also put in notice to suspend all business in favour of talks on the situation in Manipur.
The Congress reacted to Modi’s words, accusing him of playing politics by mentioning the states of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while “breaking his silence” on the northeastern state and said this was “too little too late” and “mere words won’t do anymore”.
Party general secretary and parliamentarian Jairam Ramesh said after more than 1800 hours of an “incomprehensible and unforgivable silence”, the prime minister finally spoke on Manipur for a sum total of 30 seconds.
He said after this, “the PM tried to divert attention from the colossal governance failures and the humanitarian tragedy in Manipur by equating crimes against women in other states, especially those governed by the opposition while ignoring atrocities on women in states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat”.
(With PTI inputs)
