NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday demanded an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for, what he alleged, “defaming” Manipur. While condemning the Manipur viral video incident, the BJP leader also asked people not to paint the whole state or whole of Northeast with the same brush.
Sarma condemned the parading of two women naked in Manipur on May 4 but said it should be treated as an isolated incident. In a candid admission, he said all states witness incidents of crimes against women, including Assam.
He asked his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, who has condemned the Manipur incident, whether incidents of rape have not taken place in her state in the last 12 years.
Coming down heavily on former Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi, Sarma said he was defaming the whole of Manipur because it is ruled by the BJP.
He said, “They should condemn one particular incident. But condemning the whole state or Northeast is not justified.”
Sarma is the convener of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) while BJP president JP Nadda is its chairperson.
He said the incident in Manipur is horrendous and the perpetrators will face the full wrath of law. “Unfortunately, there is a clear pattern among the so-called liberals. The outrage is limited to the Northeast, while they will simply ignore equally brutal crimes elsewhere.”
Sarma shared seven incidents of crimes against tribal people and women in several states in the last few months. “These are a few recent instances of horrific crimes committed against women or tribals, even in my state Assam there have been similar incidents. Crimes, occurring anywhere, need to be condemned. But why only target Manipur and Northeast?” he said.
In one incident, a family of four including a six-month-old infant were first murdered and burnt alive in Jodhpur on July 19. In the second one, a Dalit minor was gangraped in front of her boyfriend in Jodhpur on July 16. In the third incident, a BJP worker alleged that TMC workers urinated on him after he lost the recently-concluded panchayat election in West Bengal on July 13.
He said in another incident, a BJP candidate alleged she was stripped and paraded nude by TMC workers on July 8. A minor tribal girl was gangraped by eight people in Bihar on June 7. A tribal woman was gangraped by 10 people in broad daylight on the road in Chaibasa, Jharkhand on October 20, 2022, he pointed out.
He also mentioned Rajasthan minister and Congress leader Rajendra Singh Gudha who said in the state assembly, "It is true and should be accepted that we have failed in women's safety. Instead of Manipur, we should look within ourselves that atrocities on women have increased in Rajasthan."
