Rahul Gandhi draws analogy from Ramayana to slam PM's 'arrogance' on Manipur

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: "Raavan only listened to two people - Meghnad and Kumbhkaran. Similarly, PM Modi only listens to Amit Shah and Adani. Hanuman did not burn Lanka, it was Raavan's arrogance. Ram did not kill Raavan, it was Raavan's arrogance, said Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a blistering attack against the BJP over violence in Manipur and Haryana during the debate on the No-Trust Motion on Wednesday.

Participating in the debate, Gandhi also slammed PM Modi for not visiting Manipur and alleged that he does not consider the state to be part of India.

"I went to Manipur a few days ago. Our prime minister has not gone there, he has not gone there till now. He does not consider Manipur part of India. I used the word Manipur, but the reality is there is no Manipur left. You have divided Manipur into two parts, you have broken up Manipur," Gandhi said.

Continuing his no-holds barred attack against the government in his over 30-minute speech, Gandhi went on to say that it is the Army that can bring peace to Manipur but the government is not deploying it.

Gandhi said he visited Manipur and met women and children at the relief camps, but the PM had not done this. "I asked a woman, 'What happened to you?'

She said, 'My small son, only child, was shot before my eyes. I spent the whole night with the body of my child and then I felt afraid. I left my house'.

I asked her if she had brought along something with her and she said only the clothes she was wearing and a photo," Gandhi said, narrating his experiences.

In another camp, he said he asked a woman the same question -- "What happened with you?"

As he did so, she started trembling and fainted. "These are the two examples.

In Manipur, they (BJP) have murdered Hindustan. Their politics has not killed Manipur but killed Hindustan in Manipur. Hindustan has been murdered in Manipur....By killing the people of Manipur you have murdered Bharat Mata, you are not desh bhakts (patriots) but deshdrohis (traitors)," the former Congress chief said.

"You have murdered the voice of India, which means you have murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur... My mother is sitting here. The other mother, Bharat Mata, you killed in Manipur," he said, pointing to Sonia Gandhi who was present in the House.

"You have sprinkled kerosene everywhere. You have set fire to Manipur. You are trying the same thing in Haryana," he added, referring to communal clashes in Gurugram and Nuh.

"The last time I spoke, I also caused you (Speaker Om Birla) pain. I focussed on Adani ji with such intensity, your senior leaders felt pain. That pain also affected you, for that I apologise to you," Gandhi told Birla.

"I only spoke the truth. My BJP friends you need not be afraid because my speech today will not be focussed on us. Rumi said, 'Jo shabd dil se aate hain woh dil mein jaate hain'. Will not attack you much," he said.

The PM was not in the House when Gandhi spoke.

Irani suffers from 'Rahul phobia'

After participating in the debate on the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, Gandhi blew a flying kiss, drawing sharp reactions from the treasury benches with Union minister Smriti Irani calling him a misogynist and saying the House had never witnessed such an 'indecent act'.

'Camera on Speaker' while Rahul speaks, Cong cries foul

Congress raised the complaint that Rahul Gandhi’s speech was not telecast in full on Sansad TV by focusing the camera on Speaker Om Birla.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out that Gandhi spoke for 37 minutes but the camera showed him for only 14 minutes.

Moreover, he spoke about the violence in Manipur for 15 minutes but was shown on camera for about four minutes, Ramesh alleged.

“In his first speech after coming back from the unjustified disqualification, Rahul Gandhi spoke from 12:09pm to 12:46pm i.e. 37 minutes during the No-Confidence Motion. Sansad TV showed him for only 14 mins 37 seconds. That's less than 40% screen time! What is Mr Modi afraid of?” Ramesh posted on X.

“This gets even worse. Rahul spoke on Manipur for 15 minutes 42 seconds but Sansad TV's camera focused on Speaker Om Birla for 11 min 08 seconds i.e. 71 percent of the time,” he added.

Other observers pointed out that Union Minister Smriti Irani spoke for more than 50 minutes when Birla was shown for only about four minutes.