Manipur: Chidambaram slams BJP for comparing Manipur with Rajasthan, West Bengal
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday hit out at the BJP for comparing the situation in Manipur to that of Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan, alleging that the government in the northeastern state has "collapsed" while the Centre is in a "self-induced coma".
The BJP has been raising the incidents of atrocities against women in West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bihar and questioning the "silence" of the opposition, which has termed it as a diversionary tactic to avoid debate on the situation in violence-hit Manipur.
More than 160 people have lost their lives, and several have been injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur 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.
In a long Twitter post, Chidambaram said, "Let's admit that there were incidents of violence against women in Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan. How does that excuse the continuing and relentless violence in Manipur?"
"Are there any Kukis left in the valley? Are there any Meiteis left in Churachandpur and other hill districts of Manipur?" the former home minister said.
If reports are true, ethnic cleansing is almost complete in Manipur, he said.
On an objective assessment, there is a collapse of constitutional government in Manipur, Chidambaram asserted.
The writ of the chief minister and his ministers does not run beyond their homes and offices, he claimed.
"How can the situation in Manipur be compared to the situation in Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan? The central government has not only been incompetent and partisan, it is callous and cruel when it hides behind the smokescreen of odious comparisons," he said.
Chidambaram said if stern action is required in Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan, certainly instruct the state governments to take stronger action, but that does not excuse the barbarism that is taking place in Manipur.
"The government of Manipur has collapsed. The government of India is in a self-induced coma," he said.
Tension further mounted in Manipur on Wednesday after a May 4 video surfaced online showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a group of men from the other side.
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.
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Duleep Trophy: Pacers shine as India B beat India A by 76 runs
Bengaluru, Sep 8: KL Rahul's gumption, which helped him pile a patient fifty, found no resonance among his colleagues as India B pacers led by Yash Dayal pushed India A to a 76-run defeat on the fourth and final day of their Duleep Trophy match here on Sunday.
Chasing 275, India A were bundled out for 198 in their second innings as left-arm seamer Dayal (3/50), with able support from his colleagues Mukesh Kumar (2/50) and Navdeep Saini (2/41), led the India B attack.
Rahul top-scored for 'A' with a 51.
In the first session of the day, India B made 184 all out in their second essay to muster a handy overall lead of 274.
The India A chase began on a shaky note as Mayank Agarwal departed in the second over itself, wafting Dayal away from his body to Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a wonderful diving catch at second slip.
That brought Riyan Parag to the middle and the right-hander followed the path set on Saturday by Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan.
Parag took on the bowlers and pacer Mukesh bore the brunt of his aggression, getting smoked for two sixes and the second maximum touched the roof of the Chinnaswamy Stadium over the mid-wicket region.
Parag added 48 runs for the second with a rather subdued Shubman Gill, who was dropped by Nitish Reddy at slips off Mukesh on 16, and 31 came off the former's bat in just 18 balls.
But the approach was tough to sustain considering the kind of assistance the bowlers were getting here, and soon his massive hoick off Dayal took an edge off Parag's bat en route to stumper Rishabh Pant.
Gill (21) departed soon, falling to Saini for the second time in the match and on this occasion, he edged the pacer to Pant.
Dhruv Jurel poked Dayal well outside off-stump to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully, as India batters perished to a combination of bowlers' persistence on that channel and their own carelessness.
They took the lunch at a queasy 76 for four that soon transpired into 99 for six after the dismissal of Shivam Dube and Tanush Kotian, an hour into the lunch.
However, Rahul batted out 180 minutes 121 balls and milked 42 runs for the seventh wicket with Kuldeep Yadav to delay the inevitable.
The standout shot in an otherwise dour innings was a whistling on drive off Mukesh that fetched him a boundary.
But Mukesh had his revenge soon when Rahul feathered a cut off him to Pant, who completed five catches in this innings, soon after reaching his fifty with a single off Saini.
It effectively signalled the end of the road of for India A, though Akash Deep (43, 42b, 3x4, 4x6) gave a few moments of fun with a cavalier innings.
But beyond the entertainment value, it always was a case of when more than if.
Earlier, resuming from their overnight score of 150 for six India B could only 34 runs more to the total before getting bundled out.
Pacer Akash, whom Sarfaraz Khan carted around for five fours in a row the previous day, found his mojo to add the scalps of Washington Sundar and Saini to complete a five-wicket haul (5/56).
The spell will keep his name floating among the contenders when the selectors sit together soon to pick up squad for two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
