NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha witnessed a heated exchange on the second day of the debate on the no-confidence motion moved by Congress, with Rahul Gandhi accusing the government of destroying ‘Bharat Mata’ and branding governing party members as “traitors”, which drew a sharp retort from Union ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani, who asked the former Congress chief not to politicise the ethnic strife in Manipur.

“You are throwing kerosene in the entire country.

You sprinkled kerosene in Manipur and then lit a spark,” the Congress MP said, adding that the same was happening in Haryana as well.The PM was not in the House as Rahul spoke. As treasury bench members heckled Rahul for his remarks and even Speaker Om Birla advised restraint, the former Congress chief said that his “one mother” – Sonia Gandhi – was sitting in the House while his “second mother” has suffered in Manipur.
Rahul’s repetitive usage of a provocative accusation, which implied destroying India, was expunged by the Speaker late Wednesday. In his 37-minute speech, the first since being reinstated after the SC stayed his conviction in a defamation case, the former Congress chief said the government has broken Manipur into two.

Hours after Rahul spoke at full throttle, Shah targeted Congress over a range of issues, including scams during the UPA governments, and accused him of creating “drama” during his tour to Manipur when the government was ready to facilitate his visit to Churachandpur and other areas.
“I agree with the opposition that there is a cycle of violence in Manipur… Whatever happened is shameful, but to politicise those events is even more shameful,” the home minister said. Shah also made an appeal with “folded hands” for an end to the three-month-long cycle of violence, urging Kukis and Meiteis to hold talks and help restore peace.

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Amit Shah: Manipur incident shameful

In his nearly two-hour intervention, Shah ruled out a change of guard in Manipur. He also questioned the timing of the video of the May 4 incident of two women being paraded naked going viral on July 19, on the eve of the monsoon session of Parliament.
Speaking just after Rahul, Irani slammed his remark about ‘Bharat Mata’, saying this is for the first time in parliamentary democracy that someone has made such a statement. She accused the former Congress chief of supporting the idea of dividing India. “Manipur is not divided, it is part of this country,” she said. PM Modi will reply to the no-trust motion on Thursday.