Nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes and a walkout by the Opposition INDIA partners.

That’s what it took for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on Manipur in the Lok Sabha on Thursday as he replied to the no-confidence motion.

When Modi finally spoke on the Manipur carnage, he spared only around 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

He devoted the rest of his time to hitting out at the Congress, blaming everything on the party and going all the way back to his pet target, the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“Northeast ke samasya ki janani Congress hai,” (Congress is the genesis of the problems in the Northeast), Modi said, not acknowledging any blame for the killings and riots in Manipur for over three months now.

On the current situation, the Prime Minister had little to offer except the assurance that peace will soon be restored in the state. “I want to appeal to the people of Manipur — the mothers, sisters and daughters — the country is with you.This House is with you. We will together — irrespective of whether all are here or not — find a solution to this
challenge. Peace will return. I want to assure the people of Manipur that it will return to the track of speedy development. There will be no let-up in our efforts.”

From the outset, the Opposition had made it clear that the no-confidence motion was not about numbers, which the government commands, but only to compel Modi to speak on Manipur as he had refused to do so.

The Opposition members waited for nearly an hour and started raising slogans of “We want Manipur, INDIA wants Manipur”.

After waiting for nearly another 40 minutes, the Opposition members walked out of the House in protest. Modi then spoke on the Manipur situation. The no-confidence motion was defeated by a voice vote.

Modi accused Nehru of surrendering Assam to the advancing Chinese forces in 1962. He charged Indira Gandhi with using the air force to rain bombs on the citizens in Mizoram, seeking to accuse the Congress of having no concern for the Northeast.

Modi said: “Hamare liye Northeast jigar ka tukda hai (For us, the Northeast is a slice of our heart)”. To underscore his “commitment” to the Northeast he said he had visited the area 50 times amid slogans of “Modi, Modi…”.

Modi also indirectly hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, picking on his speech in the House on Manipur. He sought to term Rahul as a “failed product”. “Yesterday, someone talked of ‘dil ki baat’. The country has seen the state of his dimag (mind) and now has also seen his dil (heart),” Modi said.

Referring to Rahul’s “mohabbat ki dukan (shop of love)”, Modi said: “Ye loot ki dukan hai, jhooth ki dukan hai” (This is a shop of loot and lies).”

The Prime Minister also referred to Rahul’s expunged “Bharat Mata” remark and termed it a “very painful comment”.

Seeking to play the victim card, he again accused the Congress of seeking his death, referring to the “Modi, teri kabra khudegi (Your grave would be dug, Modi)” and claimed that it was the Opposition’s favourite slogan.

Modi claimed that India was shining in the world under him and that his government would return for a third term in 2024 with a “historic mandate”.

Cheerleaders of the government hailed Modi’s speech not for its content but for the “record” duration: apparently 1 minute more than that by former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Owaisi’s query

Modi skipped any reference to the recent communal violence in BJP-ruled Haryana, which was raised prominently by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi in the House.

“Our home minister was talking about ‘Quit India’ yesterday. I wonder if he gets to know that the word ‘Quit India’ was coined by a Muslim, he will not use this word. I want to say that the kind of politics you are doing will harm the country. I want to ask the PM if Hindutva is more important than the country,” Owaisi said.

Owaisi said that over 750 houses were bulldozed in Haryana’s Nuh without following due process — they were the homes of Muslims. He said that the way the Muslim community was being targeted has led Punjab and Haryana High Court to term it “ethnic cleansing”.

Owaisi also talked about the incident in July when an RPF jawan shot dead three Muslim passengers and a senior colleague on a train, asking the government if it was not a reflection of the “radicalisation” of the majority community”.

Adhir suspended

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Chowdhury was suspended on charges of “unruly behaviour” for a comment against Modi. He will remain suspended until a committee submits its report.