Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday questioned the timing of the release of a viral video, showing two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, just a day before the commencement of Parliament's monsoon session and claimed that politics was behind the leak.
Addressing a press conference here, Sarma claimed that incidents of rape are much higher in some opposition-ruled states like West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh than BJP-ruled Manipur or other northeastern provinces. "The case (regarding the incident) was registered long back, video was available. It was leaked a day before the commencement of the Parliament session. So, some kind of political things are involved," he added.
Sarma, however, said in the same breath that it was a gruesome incident and it cannot be condoned despite the timing of the release of the video. "Irrespective of the date of release of the video, the incident should be condemned, culprits should be punished -- on that I have no issue. But you should not defame entire Manipur or Northeast," he added.
A video shot on May 4 surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities in Manipur being paraded naked and molested by a mob from the other side. The alleged main accused was arrested on Thursday. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation across the country. The FIR on the incident was filed on June 21. The monsoon session of the Parliament began on Thursday.
He claimed that rape incidents happen less in the Northeast, especially in Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. "This is a sad incident, but an impression is being given that it happens every day in Manipur. If you compare rape incidents of West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh against Manipur, it's less in Manipur. Rape incidents happen in Assam too. But the numbers are lesser in the Northeast," he said.
"We want the Manipur government to file such a chargesheet that the judiciary gives the strictest possible punishment to the culprits," he said. When pointed out about criticism by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Sarma said she should come out with NCRB data and see how many rapes are happening in her state every day.
"I salute her if no rape takes place in West Bengal. I don't want to compete with the West Bengal government, but Didi has been the chief minister for a long time. Have rapes stopped in Bengal during her tenure? "All these incidents, where a woman and her dignity are involved, are very painful. Don't use it as a political weapon, it is not correct. No BJP person is involved, no TMC person is involved. Why are you giving it a political colour?" asked the convenor of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
He also objected to referring to the incident by the name of the state as it was "bringing a bad name to entire Manipur". "We are feeling bad that the entire state is being defamed. The condemnation should be restricted to only that incident. It should not be called Manipur's incident. "Why do you take the name of the state repeatedly? As if no rape take place in Congress-ruled states! This is wrong. People are condemning the incident and culprits have been arrested, but the state should not be defamed," Sarma said.
Slamming Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, "What is the relation of the incident with other Manipuri people? You are defaming Manipur as if such incidents are taking place in every house, every lane of the state." More than 160 people have lost their lives and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts. (PTI)
