Patna: CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Tuesday likened the ethnic strife in Manipur to communal riots that broke out in Gujarat when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the western state’s chief minister.
Addressing a press conference here, he claimed that “politics of ethnic cleansing” in the north-eastern state will become “a major issue” in the forthcoming elections just as the 2002 riots had dominated the discourse during the Lok Sabha polls of 2004.
“We see lots of similarities between what is happening in BJP-ruled Manipur at present and what took place in Gujarat in 2002. The government in Manipur seems to be following Modi, who had tried to brush aside Gujarat riots by invoking regional chauvinism”, alleged Bhattacharya.
“The one difference between the situation then and now is that these days, with the proliferation of social media, we get to know many things which governments may like to suppress. A case in point is the atrocities suffered by the two women”, said the CPI(ML)-L leader, referring to the video clip of May 4, which recently went viral.
“One of the rape victims in Manipur was married to a soldier who fought in Kargil. Another old woman, who was buried alive, was wife of a freedom fighter. So much for the BJP’s boasts of patriotism”, said Bhattacharya.
“Manipur is just an extreme case of the politics of mob violence that the BJP has promoted across the country, which get reflected elsewhere in lynchings by cow vigilantes”, said the CPI(ML)-L leader.
He also deplored the suspension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh from Rajya Sabha, demanding its immediate withdrawal, and expressed “solidarity with all who had staged a dharna all through the night inside the Parliament”.
“We are also with the popular sentiment which seeks dismissal of Manipur Chief Minister, whose government has drawn flak from the very Governor of that state. We also support the demand for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation”, added Bhattacharya.
“Above all, we are appalled at the deafening silence the Prime Minister has maintained over the entire episode. When he chose to touch upon the issue, he tried to drag in crimes against women in other states, which were different even though no less reprehensible”, alleged Bhattacharya.
The CPI(ML)-L leader, who has agreed to become a part of the united opposition, also expressed bewilderment over the prime minister drawing parallels between the acronym ‘INDIA’ and East India Company established by British colonizers.
“The PM should know that India that is Bharat is the opening phrase of the very first Article of the Constitution. Though the BJP has always had scant respect for the Constitution. The CAA was a flagrant violation of the ideals espoused in the Constitution’s preamble”, he alleged.
“Nonetheless, the PM should be mindful that India is the very name by which the country is known abroad where he is so happy to enjoy the limelight”, Bhattacharya remarked.
“Overall, the situation in the country seems ripe for a strong mass movement of which we will definitely be a part. We are sure that the politics of ethnic cleansing will become an issue in all elections in the near future just like the communal carnage of 2002 had become in 2004 Lok Sabha polls. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s calls for Raj Dharma had gone unheeded”, said Bhattacharya.
The CPI(ML)-L leader, whose party supports the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar from outside, also said he expected the administration in the state to be more sensitive towards mass protests by teachers’ job aspirants and ASHA workers.
“The government must talk to representatives of these agitators and work out an amicable solution. At the conference of opposition parties in Bengaluru, a resolution was passed in which a commitment was made that the governments in states ruled by INDIA constituents shall be different in terms of style and substance. The Bihar government must walk the talk. Nitish Kumar must live up to his reputation for good governance”, added Bhattacharya.
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