Mar Joseph Pamplany ,metropolitan Archbishop of Thalassery Archdiocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central government over the ongoing violence in Manipur. He compared the ongoing violence in Manipur with the 2002 Gujarat riots
Speaking to media persons in Thalassery, Mar Joseph Pamplany said both the state and Central governments have failed to suppress the violence in Manipur.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement in US that there is no discrimination in India on the grounds of caste or religion, Bishop Pamplani said instead of saying in the US that there is no discrimination in India, he( Prime Minister Modi) should try to convince the Christians in Manipur about that.
If Modi can convince the Christians in the north-eastern state that there is no discrimination, then only his statement to that effect would be seen as honest and sincere by the people of India.Otherwise, no one can be faulted for thinking that there is a silent approval of the government to those engaging in violence and killing in that state, said Bishop Pamplani.
“During his US visit, Modi said that there was no discrimination in India.We all want that to be true. However, if that statement of his is honest, he should make the Christians in Manipur believe that. He should say to their faces that there is no discrimination. If he can make them believe that, then only would his statement be seen as honest and sincere by the people of India,” he said.
During his recent US Visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,at the joint press conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, said there is no question of discrimination in India on the grounds of caste or religion because his government follows the Constitution, which is formed on the basic values of democracy.
He was responding to a question from a US journalist about the steps taken by his government to improve the rights of minorities in India.
Expressing concern over the riots, Pamplani feared whether the Manipur violence would turn into a genocide.
“The situation in Manipur has turned out to be another version of the riots that happened in Gujarat years ago,” the Bishop said.
Calling the violence in Manipur,a planned insurgency, the Bishop said it was natural for the public to think that the government was protecting those behind it.
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in the state after clashes broke out between them on 3 May.
In Last March, Bishop Pamplani has stated that BJP’s dearth of an MP from Kerala would be addressed, if the Centre promised to increase the price of rubber procurement to Rs 300 per kilogram.
Recently, the Bishop has courted controversy by stating that political martyrs are those who died after getting into unnecessary fights.
Speaking at a meeting organised by Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM), Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany said that the martyrdom of the 12 apostles of Jesus was different from that of political martyrs. ” Political martyrs are those who died after getting into unnecessary fights,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) on Thursday came down heavily on the Central and state governments over the handling of Manipur violence and demanded to impose President’s rule in the state.
KCBC spokesperson Fr Jacob Palackappilly said “If it was a conflict between two tribal groups, then there will not be a situation where only one group is attacked. People with vested interests and pre-planned agenda are acting behind the violence.”