Rahul Gandhi says PM, BJP ‘set fire in Manipur’, his remarks on Bharat Mata expunged

The Congress MP, who returned to Lok Sabha two days ago following the restoration of his membership, targeted the Prime Minister, saying it was Ravana’s “arrogance” that killed him, not Lord Ram, resulting in the destruction of Lanka. Modi was not present in the House when Gandhi spoke.

Using the Bharat Mata prop and sticking to his “nafrat vs mohabbat” (hatred vs love) line of attack to take on the BJP’s nationalism plank, Gandhi spoke on Manipur, roiled by ethnic clashes, and Nuh, the Haryana town rocked by communal violence, in the same breath.

He said the BJP was squarely to blame for the fires that had been lit, reinforcing the Congress’s political narrative for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“You are throwing kerosene across the country … Aapne Manipur mein kerosene pheki aur phir chingari laga di. Ab aap Haryana mein kar rahe ho (You poured kerosene in Manipur and then you lit it … Now you are doing it in Haryana). You are burning the entire country. You are… (word expunged) Bharat Mata across the country,” he said in a nearly 30-minute speech disrupted repeatedly by the treasury benches.

Barring some meandering and recollection of tales from his Bharat Jodo Yatra and mention of businessman Guatam Adani — short-seller Hindenburg’s report on the Adani Group had derailed the Budget session — in the beginning and towards the end, Gandhi was focused on targeting the government, accusing it of sowing the seeds of division.

“Bharat is a voice. Bharat is the voice of our people … voice from the heart … you have … (word expunged) that voice in Manipur, which means you have … (expunged) Bharat Mata in Manipur,” he said.

“Aap… (expunged) ho, aap desh bhakt nahin ho … Aap desh premi nahin ho, aap … (expunged) ho, aapne desh ki … (expunged) Manipur mein ki hai (You are … you are not patriots, you do not love the country, you are … you have… the country in Manipur),” he said, triggering an uproar in the BJP benches.

As BJP MPs including Union Ministers shouted in protest, Gandhi said, “You are not the saviours of Bharat Mata .. you are the … (expunged) of Bharat Mata … I am talking about the … (expunged) of my mother. I am talking with respect. You have … (expunged) my mother. One mother (pointing to Sonia Gandhi who was seated in the front row) of mine is sitting here, and you have… (expunged) the other in Manipur … every day, till you stop violence, you are… (expunged) my mother.”

“I went to Manipur some days ago. Your … (expunged) has not gone so far… I used the word Manipur… but the reality is there is no Manipur left. Manipur you have divided, broken Manipur in two parts,” he said.

The Indian Army, Gandhi said, can bring peace in Manipur in a day. “But you are not using the Indian Army because you want to … (expunged) Bharat Mata in Manipur. If Narendra Modi does not listen to the voice of India, then whose voice is he listening to … he listens to the voice of two people.”

Amid protests from the BJP benches, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Gandhi should apologise for his remarks because it was the Congress that was responsible for insurgency and other problems in the North-East. Since Rijiju’s microphone was on, angry Opposition MPs ran towards the Speaker’s chair and questioned why the minister’s microphone was on.

The MPs said they were not allowed to even raise points of order on Tuesday when they raised objections to BJP leader Nishikant Dubey’s remarks during his speech. They were asked by senior party leaders to return to their seats when the microphone was switched off.

Upset, Speaker Om Birla warned the MPs: “The behaviour you have done near my table – the House cannot be run like that. This cannot be accepted.”

Continuing to target Modi, Gandhi said, “Ravana used to listen to two people — Meghnad and Kumbhakaran. Like that, Narendra Modi listens to only two people, Amit Shah and Adani. Hanuman did not set Lanka on fire. It was Ravan’s arrogance which set Lanka on fire. Ram did not kill Ravana. Ravana’s arrogance killed him,” he said.

Earlier, when he began his speech, Gandhi said, “When I last spoke, perhaps I gave some pain because I had focused on Adani so much… (expunged) had a little bit of difficulty then,” he said, triggering protest from the treasury benches.

“My speech today is not going to be focused on Adani. My friends in the BJP, you don’t need to be afraid today. You can relax. You can be quiet. My speech today is in a different direction. I will not attack you so much. But I will fire one or two shots … so you can relax,” he said.

Quoting Rumi, he said, ‘Jo shabd dil se aate hain woh dil mein jaate hain’ (the voice that comes from the heart touches the hearts). I will not attack you much… Today, I will speak from my heart. Dimaag se nahin, dil se baat karunga.”

Gandhi also recalled his visit to relief camps in Manipur and interaction with two women victims — one who he said had witnessed the killing of her son and another who reportedly collapsed before him.