Manipur incident extremely shameful, feel ashamed to call myself Indian: BJP MP Gautam Gambhir
New Delhi, Jul 21: BJP MP Gautam Gambhir on Friday termed the incident of two women being paraded naked in Manipur "extremely shameful" and said he feels ashamed to call himself an Indian.
The cricketer-turned-BJP MP from East Delhi told reporters on the sidelines of an event that Manipur-like incidents are not a common occurrence and it is the duty of the state's chief minister to not let these happen.
"It is extremely shameful. I feel ashamed to call myself an Indian because the issue is not only limited to Manipur. It has lowered the head of the entire country, so it should not be politicised," Gambhir said.
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after the May 4 video showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side surfaced on Wednesday.
Gambhir alleged that opposition parties were indulging in politics over the incident and said it was a matter of shame for all 140 crore Indians.
"Politics is being done on the Manipur issue but it is not not a state-specific incident. If anything like this happens to two women or girls, it is a matter of shame for the whole country. As an Indian, our heads must hang in shame," he said.
No incident like in Manipur should happen in any state in the future, he said.
Gambhir, replying to a question on the lack of appropriate action by the Centre, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the "strictest punishment" to the perpetrators of the "most heinous" crime.
Modi, in his first public comments on the Manipur violence, vowed on Thursday that no guilty would be spared and the law would act with its "full might and firmness".
Gambhir said, "This incident is no longer an issue of Manipur. It has become a national issue. Although it happened in Manipur and, as our prime minister has said, it should not happen anywhere in the country."
The prime minister has said the strictest punishment will be given to the accused, the BJP MP said.
The chief ministers of all the states are duty-bound to ensure that the women and girls are safe and such incidents never happen, Gambhir added.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident, official sources in Imphal said on Thursday night, as the 26-second video capturing the ordeal of the two tribal women stoked nationwide outrage.
Scores of people have lost their lives and several injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3.
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Chhattisgarh govt enforces austerity measures, restricts foreign travel and cuts convoy vehicles
Raipur (PTI): The Chhattisgarh government on Saturday rolled out a set of austerity measures, including restricted use of convoy vehicles for the chief minister, ministers and heads of state-run bodies, besides curbs on foreign travel at government expense.
The state has decided to implement the cost-saving steps with immediate effect to ensure efficient management of financial resources and discipline in public spending, said a directive issued by Finance Secretary Rohit Yadav.
The move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The order said that only essential vehicles should be used in the convoys of the CM, ministers and office-bearers of corporations, boards and commissions, while ensuring restrained use of other government resources.
It also directed departments to take steps for a phased conversion of all official vehicles into electric vehicles in order to promote the use of EVs.
As part of fuel-saving measures, expenditure on petrol and diesel for government vehicles should be kept to a minimum, the directive said.
Vehicle pooling arrangements should also be implemented for officials of departments travelling to the same destination, it added.
The order further stated that foreign travel of government employees at state expenses will be completely prohibited except under extremely unavoidable circumstances. In such cases, prior approval of the CM will be mandatory.
To reduce administrative expenditure, departments have been instructed to hold physical meetings preferably only once a month and encourage virtual and online meetings. Regular departmental review meetings should compulsorily be conducted through video conferencing, it said.
The government also stressed the need for energy conservation in its offices, directing that all electrical equipment, including lights, fans, air-conditioners and computers, must be switched off after office hours.
The directive will remain effective till September 30 this year.
Amid the war involving the US, Israel and Iran, Modi has suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of EVs, utilising railway services for parcel movement and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.
