TMC terms Rahul Gandhi’s LS speech as ‘straight from heart’

TMC's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, said Gandhi appropriately raised the Manipur issue, which the Centre was "trying to avoid" in Parliament

Kolkata: The TMC on Wednesday praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for raising the Manipur issue in Parliament by “speaking from the heart”, and criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for attempting to “mask the Centre’s failure” in the northeastern state with “feeble excuses”.

During the day, Gandhi alleged that the politics of the BJP has “murdered Bharat Mata” in Manipur and called members of the ruling party “traitors” as he launched a broadside against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre over its handling of the violence in the northeastern state.

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“Rahul Gandhi addressed the core issues of the country. He spoke from his heart on the Manipur situation. It was straight from the heart. The entire country also feels the same. The central government has completely failed to control the situation, which he has pointed out in his speech,” Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy told PTI.

TMC’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, said Gandhi appropriately raised the Manipur issue, which the Centre was “trying to avoid” in Parliament.

“Rahul Gandhi has adequately raised the Manipur issue in Parliament. The Centre was unwilling to discuss the issue in the House. But the government was forced to discuss the matter in Parliament as it was held under a no-confidence motion. Whatever Rahul Gandhi said was right. He highlighted the injustice in Manipur,” the TMC MP said.

Speaking on the second day of the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi, in his first comments in the House after the restoration of his membership, slammed PM Modi for not visiting Manipur and alleged that the PM does not consider the state a part of India, evoking strong protest by the treasury benches.

Commenting on Amit Shah’s speech in Parliament, Roy said the union minister made a “political speech to defend the indefensible”.

“Amit Shah Ji was making a political statement. He was trying to blame the opposition for evading the responsibility of the union government and to mask the Centre’s failure. The central government has completely failed in Manipur. The state is burning due to its policy,” he said.

Over 150 people have been killed, and thousands have been rendered homeless in the ethnic riots in Manipur.

The BJP, however, criticised Gandhi and wondered whether the TMC had accepted the leadership of Rahul Gandhi in the opposition alliance.

“Where was Rahul Gandhi when Kashmir was burning during the Congress regime? He is speaking on Manipur and pursuing politics. The TMC, before speaking in the same voice, should answer whether it has accepted the leadership of Gandhi in the opposition alliance,” West Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.