Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi moved the no-confidence motion on Tuesday amid massive protest by the treasury bench in Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Josi said that in the morning a letter was received in the speaker's office that instead of Gaurav Gogoi, Rahul Gandhi will speak on the no-confidence motion. As Kaliabor MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi began to speak on the motion, Joshi said: "What happened? We are interested in listening to him."
Gaurav Gogoi said it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's duty to put out a statement on Manipur. He said, "We are compelled to bring the No Confidence Motion. This was never about numbers but about justice for Manipur. I move the Motion that this House expresses No Confidence in the Government. I.N.D.I.A. has brought this Motion for Manipur. Manipur wants justice."
Gogoi said, "The PM took a 'maun vrat [vow of silence]' to not speak in the Parliament. So, we had to bring the no-confidence motion to break his silence. We have three questions for him — Why has he not visited Manipur till now? Why did it take almost 80 days to finally speak on Manipur and when he did speak why was it for just 30 seconds? Why has the PM not sacked the Manipur CM [N Biren Singh] so far?"
'This Is About Justice'
Acknowledging the fact that the Opposition is unlikely to win the no-trust vote, Gaurav Gogoi said: "This was never about numbers; it was always about justice for Manipur. If Manipur is burning, India is burning. Our demand was clear that as the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi should come to Parliament and express his thoughts and all parties stand in solidarity with Manipur."
He pointed out that Cabinet ministers and even the Opposition went to visit Manipur but not PM Modi. He also said that after PM Modi spoke on the Manipur video for 30 seconds outside Parliament, he did not speak a word about the violence. He also reminded the Lok Sabha that Manipur CM N Biren Singh had not been removed from his post despite the state burning for nearly three months.
"In the run up to the Gujarat elections, you [PM Modi] had to do your politics. So, you changed the CM. Your stance was the same before the Uttarakhand elections. You changed the CM four times. In Tripura too, you changed the CM before election. What special quality do you see in the Manipur CM that you bless him, despite him admitting that there was an intelligence failure because of him?"
'Image Is All PM Modi Cares About'
He alleged that Manipur CM N Biren Singh said that all this had happened because of drugs. "But when police caught the drug mafia kingpin, CM Singh had put pressure to release him because he was a BJP leader and the chairman of an autonomous district council." Gogoi was referring to the 2018 case of Lhukhosei Zou, who was allegedly a leader of the drugs cartel in Mnaipur and a local BJP leader from the Chandel district. Two years later Additional Superintendent of Police of the Narcotics and Affairs of Border Bureau, Thounaojam Brinda, made the revelation of the alleged pressure by CM Singh. Gogoi said that
He also referred to the case of Itocha Loyangamba, who was caught with narcotics worth Rs 10 crore in Delhi earlier this year. "Itocha is the brother of a minister in the Manipur Cabinet," Gogoi said. He also said that the illegal poppy farming had increased in the last five years. Gogoi said such "revelations" spoil the image of the government and "Image is all that PM Modi cares about".
'Home Ministry, Intelligence Bureau Has Failed'
Gaurav Gogoi said there was a complete failure of the home ministry and intelligence department due to which more than 5,000 arms and 6 lakh ammunition had found their way into people's hands. "Mobs loot weapons from police stations. Have you ever seen such a situation," he asked the House.
Gaurav Gogoi said, "PM will have to accept that his double-engine govt, his govt in Manipur has failed. That is why, 150 people died in Manipur around 5000 houses were torched, around 60,000 people are in relief camps and around 6500 FIRs have been registered. The CM of the state, who should have created an atmosphere of talks, of peace and harmony, has taken instigating steps in the past 2-3 days that have created tension in society."