Accusing the Opposition of disrupting Parliament and not allowing a discussion on the situation in Manipur, the BJP on Thursday said that the surfacing of a viral video — which showed two women in the State being stripped and paraded naked — on the eve of Parliament’s monsoon session was “surrounded by lot of mystery”.
Addressing the press at the BJP’s headquarters in the capital, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the BJP “condemns” the incident in which two women were paraded naked in Manipur and asserted that strict action was being taken by the State government in the case.
‘Suspicious circumstances’
He did, however, raise concerns over the timing of the video going viral on social media. “There is question that comes to my mind about mysterious circumstances. Today, we are in July. How come a May first week incident come up on Twitter... a day before the Parliament session to begin. This raises many questions when circumstances are filled with suspicion,” Mr. Prasad said.
Also Read | Outside Parliament, PM breaks silence on Manipur sexual assault, promises stringent punishment for guilty
“When a particular incident is surrounded by lot of mystery and suspicious circumstances about the timing part, you can draw your own conclusion,” he added.
“Once again, I say the incident is very wrong. We all condemn it. Strict action is being taken and more will be taken,” he stressed. “Chief Minister N. Biren Singh is taking action and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed a lot of concern.”
‘How did Twitter allow video?’
Mr. Prasad, who is a former Union Minister of Information Technology, also wondered “how Twitter allowed such a video to be posted” on its platform when there are “mechanisms” in place to prevent people with unauthenticated accounts from posting “vulnerable comments and videos”.
He also appealed to the people to be “a bit responsible” while posting videos with sensitive content.
‘Double standards’
The BJP leader also hit out at the Congress, accusing the party of running away from a discussion on Manipur as incidents of rape were rising in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The Congress is in power in both those States, where Assembly polls are due to be held later this year.
“What is your approach towards sensitive issues... Sonia [Gandhi] ji , Priyanka [Gandhi Vadra] ji, Rahul [Gandhi] ji, [Mallikarjun] Kharge ji, why are you silent on the Jodhpur incident where four persons of a family including women were burnt alive? Did you call them or even speak to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,” he asked, accusing the Congress of “double standards”.
