Wakes up from slumber...too little, too late

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the incident in which women were paraded naked in Manipur has shamed 140 crore Indians, asserting that the law will act with its full might and no guilty will be spared.

"Today, when I am standing by this temple of democracy, my heart is full of pain and anger," he told reporters in his remarks at Parliament complex before the start of the Monsoon session and amid criticism by opposition parties that he had not spoken on the ethnic violence in the BJPruled north-east state.

Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities in the state being paraded naked by a mob from the other side.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Thursday seemed to suggest that there have been many similar cases. He was speaking in a telephone interview to India Today.

On being asked whether he knew about the first information report (FIR} filed in the case on May 18, Singh said, “there are hundreds of similar FIRs here”.

It is not clear if the chief minister meant hundreds of cases of sexual assault specifically or violence in general. The Congress accused PM Modi of playing politics by mentioning Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh while "breaking his silence" on the northeastern state and said this was "too little too late" and "mere words won't do anymore".

Hitting out at Modi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said after more than 1800 hours of an "incomprehensible and unforgivable silence", the prime minister finally spoke on Manipur for a sum total of 30 seconds.

"Hon'ble PM has broken his silence on Manipur. He did not spare a thought for the people of Manipur when he was traveling to the US, France, the UAE and to various states in India to inaugurate something or the other," Chidambaram said in a tweet.

"I wonder what prompted him to remember Manipur? Was it the horrific video of the unspeakable crime against the women of Manipur? Was it the Supreme Court taking cognisance of the massive violation of human rights in Manipur?" he said.

He said after this, "the PM tried to divert attention from the colossal governance failures and the humanitarian tragedy in Manipur by equating crimes against women in other states, especially those governed by the opposition while ignoring atrocities on women in states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat".

Proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, meeting for the first day of the Monsoon session, were disrupted and adjourned for the day with opposition MPs creating an uproar and demanding a discussion in Parliament.

"An insensitive and cruel leader is leading this country. Manipur is burning and Modi ji is silent," said AAP MP Sanjay Singh.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the video, police last night said a case of abduction, gang rape and murder was registered at Nongpok Sekmai police station against unknown armed men.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said the police have arrested two men In a tweet, Rahul Gandhi said, "Prime Minister, the issue is not that it's a shame for the country. The issue is the immense pain and trauma inflicted on the women of Manipur. Stop the violence immediately."

SC calls it ‘gross constitutional failure'

The anguish found echo in the Supreme Court where a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud took cognisance of the video and asked the Centre and Manipur government to take immediate action.

“We are very deeply disturbed by the videos which have emerged yesterday about the way those two women were paraded in Manipur," said the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra.

"I think it is time that the government really steps in and takes action because this is simply unacceptable," the CJI said, adding, "We will give a little time to the government to act, otherwise we will take action if nothing is happening on the ground."

Justice Chandrachud said using women as an instrument to perpetrate violence in an area of communal strife is "deeply disturbing" and this is "simply unacceptable".

He also termed it the "grossest" Constitutional and human rights violation. The CJI added that the court is conscious of the fact that the video is of May 4 but that makes no difference.