PM should make elaborate statement on Manipur in Parliament: Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday demanded that the prime minister make an elaborate statement in Parliament on the Manipur situation, saying he could have dismissed the state chief minister instead of making "false equivalence" with Congress governed states if he was angry over the matter.
The Congress has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must make a statement in both houses of Parliament followed by a discussion on the situation in Manipur.
Opposition parties have stepped up their attack on the government over the Manipur violence, especially after the video of two women being paraded naked and assaulted by a crowd in a Manipur village, went viral on social media.
"Narendramodi ji, You did not make a statement inside Parliament, yesterday. If you were angry then instead of making false equivalence with Congress governed states, you could have first dismissed your Chief Minister Manipur," Kharge said on Twitter.
"INDIA expects you to make an elaborate statement in Parliament today, not just on one incident, but on the 80-day violence that your government in the state and the Centre has presided upon, looking absolutely helpless and remorseless," the Congress chief also said. Modi on Thursday said the incident of women being paraded naked in Manipur has shamed 140 crore Indians, asserting that law will act with its full might and no guilty will be spared.
Both houses of Parliament did not transact any business on Thursday as the opposition was unrelenting on its demand for a statement from the prime minister on the Manipur violence.
Manipur is burning. Women are raped, naked, paraded and horrific violence is taking place.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 20, 2023
But the Prime Minister has kept quiet for so long.
Today, after so much outrage, he gave a statement outside the Parliament.
We want a detailed discussion on Manipur and PM Modi should… pic.twitter.com/oeuCxG72Az
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Two women died, 6 taken ill after ‘consuming’ mango kernel gruel in Odisha
Bhubaneswar/Berhampur/Phulbani, Nov 1: At least two tribal women died and six others fell ill after allegedly consuming mango kernel gruel in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Friday.
Consumption of mango kernel, prepared by boiling the seeds in water, was reported from Mandipanka village in the district's Daringbadi block, an officer said.
While one of the two women (Rasmita Pattamajhi aged 22) died on Thursday night at Mohana community health centre in Gajapati district where she was undergoing treatment after "consuming the gruel", another woman (Runu Majhi aged 29) breathed her last while being taken to MKCG Medical College Hospital in Berhampur, Gadapur sarpanch Kumari Mallick said.
Six others, who fell ill after allegedly consuming the gruel, were admitted to a hospital and their condition was critical, said Dr Subrat Das, a medical officer of the health facility.
"All the six have been admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. We suspected that they fell sick due to food poisoning. The exact cause of the illness will be ascertained after completion of the investigation," he added.
The six were identified as Pravati Patmajhi, Dranglu Patmajhi, Tuni Majhi, Susama Patmajhi, Jita Majhi and Jibanti Majhi, Daringbadi BDO Pritiranjan Ratha said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has rejected allegations that tribal people have been consuming mango kernel gruel due to a lack of access to rice under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Rasmita's husband Anil Pattamajhi alleged that they were denied rice under PDS for the last three months because of which his wife consumed mango kernel.
However, Kandhamal district magistrate-cum-collector Amrit Ruturaj dismissed the allegations, saying the family received rice according to PDS norms. "We are awaiting the postmortem report to determine the facts," the collector added.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, who is also in-charge of the women and child development department said, "It is not a case of malnutrition. Mango kernel is part of their (tribal) regular diet. Sometime, the mango kernels get contaminated and lead to such unfortunate incidents. We have been actively spreading awareness about the risks of food contamination."
Health and family welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, who ordered a departmental inquiry into the death of two tribal women, said a team from the district headquarters hospital and another local team are at the spot to assess the situation and conduct a detailed probe into the incident.
Mahaling said that the government was waiting for the postmortem report for a confirmation on the cause of the deaths. "People in Kandhamal consume mango kernel. It is common in that region and there also have been reports of health complications linked to it in the past," he said.
The Kandhmal incident reminds a similar tragedy involving mango kernel deaths in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, where at least 20 people died in 2001, and two more succumbed to mango kernel consumption in 2016. Additionally, mango kernel has claimed lives in Laxmipur in Koraput district in 2012 and 2013, as well as in Jharigaon in Nabarangpur district in 2018.
