Leaders of Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “failure to respond to the ethnic conflicts in Manipur” and demanded an apology from him to women across the country over the ‘horror video’ of two women being stripped and paraded in public in the strife-torn North-eastern State.
At a press conference held in Andhra Ratna Bhavan on Friday, APCC working president Sk. Mastan Vali said while people across the world watched in shock the mindless violence in Manipur which had remained tense since early May, resulting in hundreds of people fleeing their homes, the BJP governments in that State and at the Centre remained indifferent to the magnitude of the problem.
Referring to the “disturbing” footage of the women being paraded naked in public, the Congress leader said that Mr. Modi had spoken merely for 30 seconds about the incident in Parliament, which reflected his scant regard for women and the people being victimised in that State.
Calling it a dark chapter in the history of Manipur State, the Congress leader demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the violence that has been continuing for last 79 days and that has seen mobs torching 350 local churches.
He said the BJP tried to create hurdles for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Manipur to express solidarity with the victims, but the latter overcame the obstacles to reach out to the victims affected by the violence.
Mr. Mastan Vali accused the BJP of resorting to “dirty politics” to retain power and said that raking up the issue of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) was a part of this agenda.
Vijayawada City Congress president Naraharasetti Narasimha Rao, State Legal Cell chairman V. Gurunadham and AICC members were present.
