In a no-holds-barred attack on the Centre over its handling of the Manipur situation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ‘Ravan’, claiming that just as the hydra-headed demon king in the epic Ramayana listened only to “Meghnad’ and Kumbhakarna”, PM Modi listens only to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and industrialist Gautam Adani.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during the debate on the Opposition’s no-trust motion against the Centre, on Wednesday, Rahul said, “Ravan used to listen only to Meghnad and Kumbhakarna. Similarly, Modi-ji listens only to Amit Shah and (Gautam) Adani.”
Further lashing out at the Centre over its alleged failure to rein in the violence in Manipur, the Congress leader said, “They killed Bharat Mata in Manipur”.
Saying that it wasn’t Lord Ram but Ravan’s arrogance that eventually killed him, the Congress leader added, ” Lanka ko Hanuman ne nahi jalaya tha…Lanka ko Ravan ke ahankar ne jalaya tha….Ram ne Ravan ko nahi maara tha…Ravan ke Ahankar ne Ravan ko maara tha…aap pure desh me kerosene fek rahe ho…aapne Manipur me kerosene feki aur fir chingari laga di…ab aap Haryana me kar rahe ho..aap pure desh ko jalane me lage ho….pure desh me Bharat Maata ki hatya kr rahe ho (It wasn’t Lord Hanuman who burned down Lanka (Ravan’s kingdom), it was Ravan’s arrogance that did it. Similarly, it wasn’t Lord Ram but Ravan’s arrogance that eventually killed him. You (BJP) are pouring fuel across the country. You poured kerosene in Manipur and then lit a fire. You are doing the same now in Haryana and across the country. You killing Bharat Maata everywhere in the country).”
The Congress leader also alleged that BJP “murdered India in Manipur” and were “traitors not patriots”.
Rahul Gandhi, who was the first speaker as the no-confidence debate resumed on Wednesday in the House, also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over ethnic violence in Manipur.
Referring to BJP which is in power both at the Centre and in Manipur, he said, “you killed Bharat Mata in Manipur”.
The Congress leader referred to his visit to Manipur and his meetings with victims of violence in the state and said ‘Bharat’ is the voice of the people of the country and that “voice was killed in Manipur”.
“Bharat ek awaaz hai, Bharat hamari janta ki awaaz hai, dil ki awaaz hai. Uss awaaz ki hatya aapne Manipur mein ki. Iska matlab Bharat Mata ki hatya aapne Manipur mein ki…You killed India by killing the people of Manipur. You are a traitor, you are not a patriot,” Rahul Gandhi said.
“They killed India in Manipur. Not just Manipur but they killed India. Their politics has not killed Manipur, but it has killed India in Manipur. They have murdered India in Manipur,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister has not visited the northeastern state since it witnessed violence.
“A few days back, I went to Manipur. Our PM didn’t go, not even to this day, because for him Manipur is not India,” Gandhi alleged.
Speaker Om Birla said that the members should show respect while using the expression ‘Bharat Mata’.
It was the first speech of Rahul Gandhi since his reinstatement as a member of the House after his disqualification following his conviction by a Gujarat court in a defamation case.
Gandhi also took potshots at the government over Congress allegations concerning the Adani-Hindenburg row.
“Speaker Sir, first of all, I would like to thank you for reinstating me as an MP of the Lok Sabha. When I spoke the last time, perhaps I caused you trouble because I focussed on Adani – maybe your senior leader was pained…That pain might have had an impact on you as well. I apologise to you for that. But I spoke the truth. Today, my friends in BJP need not be scared because my speech today is not on Adani…” Gandhi said.
The Supreme Court last week stayed Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the criminal defamation case over Modi’s surname remark. He was reinstated as a member of Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Lok Sabha took up a debate on a no-confidence motion against the government on Tuesday.